


Illuminate

by fire_emblem_gaiden



Series: Lien Saga [2]
Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Artistic License, Character Study, Gaiden, Gen, Minor Original Character(s), Multiverse, Novelization, Novella, Ship Tease, Side Story, Worldbuilding, artistic license with the World of Trophies since 2012, esp the later chapters, eventual Lucario/Jigglypuff if you squint, fulfilling the dreams of a slightly younger me, holy smash bros worldbuilding Batman!, rated PG for Fantasy Violence and Mild Themes i guess, shared dreams and premonitions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-03-03 02:38:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13331736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fire_emblem_gaiden/pseuds/fire_emblem_gaiden
Summary: The story of those who did not fight on the front lines against the Subspace invasion will be brought to light here, in which, thrust into an unfamiliar world, they will literally follow their dreams... Ties in to 'Space and Time Cannot Divide', an SSE novelisation. Latest: Dreams and reality converge. Bonds are forged—some likely, others less so.





	1. Prologue: Illuminate

_A snap._ _A crackle. A twist of lightning and the straggling thunder quakes through the consciousness._

_There's a whisper, a voice breaking through the crackle of white noise and refracted colour. A voice rises out of the darkness, echoing from the depths, drowning in it._

_"I am a lost god. I call upon powers beyond my domain, to liberate mine and defend your own."_

_There's a scream, a strangled cry as an invisible hand closes around the intangible throat, dragging the voice back, chaining it there, never to escape the void._

_"Make haste... towards our... intertwined destinies..."_

_The voice dies thereafter. Ringing in ears morphs into the mottled darkness of a nightmare realm, broken by streaks of fractured light._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_The voice has faded but the memory remains. What is to be done?_


	2. Summoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little Pokemon, haunted by dreams, meets a living nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt I ought to explain a bit about what this is! This is an old, old project that I wanted to get done—it's a side story to my adaptation of The Subspace Emissary (Brawl's adventure mode) that I wrote between 2012-15.
> 
> I took a lot of creative liberties in my adaptation, including reducing the cast to about 20 characters out of the however many there were in the original SSE. And I still wanted to use those characters somehow, so I put them in this! Plus some extra characters who didn't make the Brawl cut, minus Dr Mario and Young Link except perhaps in spirit (there are no Sm4sh characters in this one, though).
> 
> So this is a side story to the SSE, wherein about a dozen characters get caught up in the more behind-the-scenes machinations of the Subspace Army.
> 
> I expect this to be less than ten chapters long, so pretty short.
> 
> A/n part 2: Footnotes are denoted by a numeral in square brackets, like this: [#].

**Chapter One: Summoning**

* * *

The rain is cold and hammering. Pichu, type advantage notwithstanding, wants to get out of the wet as soon as possible. He moves as fast as the slippery ground allows and the downward force of the rain reluctantly permits.

His morning walk to ward off the ghosts of some recent, disturbing dreams had at some point led the tiny mouse Pokémon to an unfamiliar, rocky locale, one he likely would not have acknowledged if not for a sudden crash of thunder in the late afternoon that scared him out of his daydreams. It had set Pichu off on a blind dash for shelter, wherever it happened to be in this rocky valley.

Lightning flashes overhead, followed by a roar of thunder, startling Pichu and confusing his feet. A second later he's face down in a puddle of mud. He squeaks in disgust but the rain is so heavy that the slimy, brown mess is gone in a matter of seconds.

Another clap of thunder scares him back into a run. He slips again, scratching his face on the rocky ground, before he sees a cave.

_At last!_

As he crosses the threshold, Pichu nearly tumbles in the sudden release of the rain's pressure. He shakes himself dry before trotting over to the side of the cave and sinking to the floor next to a stalagmite. Breathing deeply, he smells moss and, faintly, the scent of other Pokemon deeper within the cave. Strong Pokémon, but Pichu is so diminutive that they would have little to do with him. Perhaps his regretfully small stature is finally beginning to pay off.

Feeling positive, safe and grateful to be out of the cold, he closes his eyes and drifts off to a dreamless sleep.

*.*.*.*.*

He's awoken by a phantom impulse.

The rain has not eased at all, and the sky has darkened to night. With a huff, he wonders how long he'll be staying in this cave.

Lightning flashes outside, and with a flinch, Pichu thinks ruefully,  _Why am I so frightened of my own element?_ He catches the scent of the other Pokémon again and decides to explore.

He has venured in only half a dozen steps when an instinctual chill creeps into him. He freezes, fur standing on end, daring not attract any attention. He searches for the source of this feeling with wide eyes. It's a feeling he's rarely felt, and he's connected it to the presence of a powerful and aggressive Pokémon.

He backs up slowly in spite of his instinct to just  _run_ , taking great care that his shaky steps are silent and he doesn't trip over his own feet.

Something nudges him in the rump and he squeaks in fright, shutting his eyes tight and accidentally discharging some electricity. A stalactite comes crashing down very close to him, coating him in powder and a fresh wave of terror. It takes a second for Pichu to summon the courage to turn around when nothing else happens.

_O-oh… it's just the stalagmite._

His mouth slams shut to catch the squeak of relief that nearly escapes, and he inches behind the stalagmite.

He stares into the depths of the cave, waiting to see if the offending Pokémon will reveal itself. The anxious silence ensues for several minutes before he decides it's safe to breathe again.

_"Do you think I'm dangerous?"_

The voice comes so clearly, and into his  _head_ , that Pichu shrieks and huddles against the stalagmite, ears pinned forward, trembling and fearing the worst.

 _My head, my head he's in my_ head _!_

_"That I am. Have you not heard of telepathy?"_

_This isn't real. I'm still dreaming and not about to be found by a dangerous Pokémon! There's no danger, no danger no dangernodangerno—_

_"Clear you head. Stop panicking."_

_NO._

_"I'm not going to hurt you. Breathe."_

_NO._

Pichu feels strong paws grab him and the ground disappear beneath him. His eyes remain shut tight as he flails his legs to escape his captor's grasp.

_DON'T EAT ME!_

_"I shall not. I will just hold you in the air. Think for a moment."_

Pichu tenses his body but panics when no electricity comes out.

_Curses, curse my electricity! Let me go!_

_"I shall not. I see you tried to attack me just then."_

_Oh no..._

_"But I have no qualms."_

_What?_

Pichu finally opens his eyes to take a peek at the owner of the voice. The Pokémon is unlike any he has ever seen. He's bipedal with feline features, and the unnaturally smooth and geometric shapes that constitute his form catch Pichu off guard.

_What are you?_

_"My name is Mewtwo,"_  the Pokémon says.  _"_ _Now, I'm going to put you down, but I don't want you running off. I want to talk."_

Mewtwo places Pichu on the floor and remains in a crouch, remaining as close as he comfortably can to Pichu's eye level.

 _Y-you..._  Pichu stutters.

The Pokémon stares him right in the eyes and he feels that threatening chill race through him. But Mewtwo makes no move.

_You say you don't want to h-harm me... y-yet the aura I f-felt—_

_"I daresay you have never met a Pokemon of my... calibre."_

_Well,_ you're  _confident!_

 _"It's merely a fact."_ Mewtwo inhales deeply before continuing.  _"You don't belong here_." His voice is firm and his gaze is hard, but he lacks the volume to be truly menacing.

 _What?_  Pichu asks. That they are conversing without moving a muscle nearly sends his head spinning.

_"Do you know where you are?"_

_No._

_"The Cerulean Caves. I have never seen your kind around here. You must be very far from home."_

Pichu whimpers.

_"So, how did you find this place?"_

_Well... I took a long walk and started daydreaming. Then it began to rain and I ended up taking shelter here._

Mewtwo grunts. " _Then it seems you cannot make it home. Why did you take that 'long walk'? A leisurely stroll is an uncommon priority for wild Pokémon, after all._ "

_I wanted to forget a dream I had… It was more like a nightmare._

_"_ _Was it that disturbing? W_ _hat do you remember_ _of it_ _?"_

_Nothing really. It was pretty foggy and dark…_

Pichu's mind clouds over for a second. Then a sudden scream inside his mind grates against his skull and he drops to the floor in fright, remaining that way for a long moment after the scream fades.

 _"You heard it, too?"_  he hears Mewtwo say.

 _Y-yeah. Wait, what?_ Pichu looks up at the feline face, which is staring through him in thought.

_"That was a remnant of a dream of my own… Walk with me."_

The Pokémon begins walking further into the cave.

 _What do you mean?_  Pichu hurries over to trot alongside the taller Mewtwo.  _That was something from_ my _nightmare, now that I remember!_

_"I don't yet know what I mean. It's quite peculiar, and not just a side effect of being in the presence of a psychic Pokémon."_

_Do you wanna talk about it?_

_"Not particularly."_

So they walk in silence. Pichu entertains the futile hope that Mewtwo will eventually be willing to engage in conversation. In the meantime, he takes in his surroundings. The cave has become a tunnel, and a lake lies at its end. He eventually becomes cognizant of other Pokémon close by, but is unnerved when none of them attempt to move, as if they're hiding. For a proud moment, he believes it's his volatile electrical capacity that daunts them, but then he looks to Mewtwo…

He makes a lightning-fast connection and, in his panic, unleashes a surge of electricity. It catches Mewtwo off-guard, and the aftershock sends him flying toward the lake.

But he never hits the water.

A flash of light swallows him up, and he's gone without a trace. Pichu squeaks in horror, expecting Mewtwo to reappear behind him. Then he senses a presence close by. A large Cobra Pokémon has approached him in the confusion, and the gaze it has set on Pichu is too intense to be friendly.

He tries to dart past, but it's too quick, blocking his way and expanding its vividly patterned hood with a hiss. He tries again but the Pokémon matches his speed. It opens its maw, revealing sharp fangs.

Pichu is gripped in icy fear before he turns back and bolts toward the water, desperately hoping his foe cannot swim. He hears the Pokémon slither after him.

Pichu launches himself off the rocky ground.

Then the world dissolves in a blinding white.

*.*.*.*.*

Time slows down as Roy stumbles backwards. He eventually hits the ground with a bone-jarring  _thud_. He's on unsteady feet again before his head stops spinning, searching for the mage that ambushed him in the armoury and caused him to fall in the first place.

Even before he can see clearly, he can tell he's not where he used to be. He raises the Binding Blade in anticipation of an attack, letting it burst into ferocious flame. He's startled when his senses clear and he discovers that he's standing on a walking trail in the middle of an open field, not a soul in sight.

Until there's a flash of light and a weight crashes into him from behind, pinning him to the ground.

Almost immediately, the weight lifts itself off him and Roy stumbles back to his feet, sword pointed at his assailant. The perpetrator is crouched on the ground, not in any advantageous position to attack, but not completely dissuaded from making a move.

They stare at each other for a moment. Roy notices the perpetrator is a man in a tight grey suit. A crooked black object he can only guess is some sort of weapon is strapped to the man's leg.

"You're not gonna tell me what's going on?" the man grunts. Bewildered eyes flicker to the flaming sword before switching back to him.

Roy furrows his eyebrows. "Pardon?"

"You're not the one that brought me here, kid?"

Roy shakes his head and lowers his sword.

The man gets to his feet and pushes his bandanna out of his eyes. "Do you know where we are?"

"No, I just…  _appeared_  here."

The man is silent, regarding Roy with an inquiring eye.

"Sir?"

"It's Snake." A shadow of regret passes across the man's face for a split second. "You?"

"My name is Roy. Sir Snake— _"_

"Just Snake."

"Snake… okay." Roy breathes in the air of the foreign land and stares at the foreign man. Snake's face reminds him of the older generals back home, their eyes wise and battle-hardened, each wrinkle a terrible tale of war.

"Is there something in my teeth?"

"N-no. What are you thinking about?"

"Whatever the hell is going on. It's not every day that you're pulled into a secret government experiment."

Roy is not entirely sure of the man's implication. "Experiment?"

"Yeah, that's what this is, right? Some sort of simulation? How else do I explain being completely unaware of how I got here? And you must be part of the simulation, too—not real." He waves a hand between them and is almost disappointed that Roy is still there.

"I'm afraid that I'm real, sir." Roy's head begins to spin as he says this, and feels like some sort of apology from a third party is warranted for their mutual confusion.

As soon as he finishes the thought, a whisper echoes around them. Snake is the first to move, whipping out his weapon with lightning speed, scanning the area but ensuring he doesn't turn his back to Roy. The sunlight seems to refract a little as they sweep the area.

"Difficult place for an ambush," says Snake, noting the lack of cover. "You heard that, right? A voice."

"Perhaps it was the wind."

"Not one of yours?"

"I think we're alone."

"Good place for a one-on-one, then. No interruptions."

And he's right. Nothing reveals itself and they hear no more voices on the wind. Snake lowers his weapon and sighs, finally conceding to the absurd circumstances of his materialisation in a random field with a teenager straight out of the Middle Ages, or at least dressed convincingly so.

Roy notices the weight of the Binding Blade and decides to sheath it. As it slides in he realises that now is a very bad time to be disappearing into the blue.

"Oh no..." he moans, running a hand through his hair. One of the worst times for a noble to go missing is during the post-war recovery effort, beaten only by going missing during war itself. He thinks back to Pherae and hopes that no one stirs too much havoc over his disappearance.

"What's with that look?"

"It's nothing."

"...Alright. So, you don't know what's going on, either?"

Roy is pleasantly surprised by Snake's refusal to pry into his concerns. "No. Could we perhaps stick together for now? If it isn't a bother." [1]

"That's on you. And if you get any funny ideas, I hope you know what you're dealing with."

"I presume I should be glad that I don't."

Snake almost laughs as they head down the trail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] *Together We Ride plays*
> 
> Melee Rejects, YEAH *air guitar*


	3. A Smile in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A noble and a soldier meet unusual company in an unusual land, under unusual circumstances.

**Chapter Two: A Smile in the Dark**

* * *

"Well, if this isn't a freak show, I don't know what is."

A short walk has led Snake and Roy to the entrance of a village, one that appears to be populated mostly by anthropomorphic animals. Staring at the numerous animal heads atop numerous humanoid bodies, Snake feels like he's stepped into a child's fantasy world, and for a brief moment wonders if he's been knocked in the head one too many times.

"I do agree it's strange," Roy says, "but they don't look unwelcoming. We should ask around."

So they walk down the bustling main street until they find themselves in what is presumably the central square. Stalls of all sorts line the area, selling food and clothes and miscellaneous trinkets. Even though Snake is a head and shoulders taller than most of the crowd, he finds himself getting a bit dizzy.

He looks to the side to find Roy no longer there.

For an insane moment he suspects the village's inhabitants are the culprits, before spotting Roy's fiery hair at one of the stalls.

_Kid's taking this better than I am, that's for sure._

He weaves[1] through the crowd to join Roy, and listens in.

"Your wares are lovely, but I do not intend to buy anything," Roy says to the shopkeeper, a humanoid gecko.

"That's all right, my boy," the gecko says, grinning warmly while setting down a small vase. "You might want to bring along your friends next time."

"...I'll keep that in mind. I would only like to ask some questions."

"What would you like to know?"

"Where are we?"

"You're in Tayll Village, of course, the centre of Smash Tournament activity, second only to the Stadium itself!"

Roy takes a while to respond, obviously as confused as Snake is. "Do you know a place called Pherae?"

"It rings a bell, but no, I don't. Is that the world you're from?"

"World?" Snake questions.

The gecko's grin falters for a second. "I believe you two would benefit from dropping by the Visitor's Centre. I would help you, but I have a stall to run!" He points to over Snake's shoulder to the far side of the square while accepting payment from a feline customer. "The centre is over there. Don't be afraid to ask around. I hope your questions are answered!"

Roy thanks the gecko, and the two make their way through the crowd to the Centre—a quaint wooden shack they hadn't noticed before. The door opens with a jingle, and the receptionist briefly welcomes them to the lavender-scented space. Out of the bustle of the village proper, they finally find the room to breathe.

A wall of brochures to their left catches their attention, as well as two of the four figures standing in front of it, one that looks like a pink balloon animal and the other a blue, bipedal jackal. The other two are a pair of children in parkas holding mallets. The one in pink has her hood down.

Snake grabs a brochure that reads 'Welcome!' in bubble letters and scans it, searching for any information on what sort of secret government experiment they've stumbled upon.

Roy takes a step back to observe the wall and the two creatures.

_"Hello."_

Snake lifts his head and looks for the voice that just spoke.

"Did you say something?" he asks Roy. A shake of the head is the response.

"Somebody said hello."

"I thought they were talking to me."

" _Look to your right._ "

Snake  _hears_  something to his right, and sees the child in the pink parka giggling to herself. He frowns but holds his tongue.

" _Keep looking._ "

Snake looks past the children and at the jackal. The jackal winks.

Snake blinks.

_What._

" _You're staring straight at me_ ," the voice says again. The jackal waves to him, and the human girl walks to the other side of the room, failing to hide her growing laughter.

 _So, a telepathic animal that stands on two legs and not four,_  Snake thinks.  _When will this day end?_

"Is everything alright, Snake?"

Roy appears at his side, keeping an eye on the girl in the parka.

"This can't be real." Snake mutters.

" _I'm afraid it is,_ " the jackal says. " _Have you never seen a Lucario before?_ "

Snake lets out a weighty sigh and walks over to a nearby chair to sit down. Roy stays where he is and looks to the jackal.

"You're telepathic?" Roy asks aloud.

" _Yes. I presume you're not from Sinnoh?_ "

"That's correct. Is that where you're from?"

" _Yes_."

"Hey, Roy," Snake calls from the chair, "it looks like you're going insane yourself, talking aloud to no one in particular."

Snake sees him go red in the face, though the receptionist doesn't seem perturbed. "But  _we're_ not telepathic," Roy reasons.

"The more you know." Snake rubs his face before thinking and assuming the jackal hears,  _Why are you here?_

"M _y Balloon companion_   _and I are lost. We're trying to get home._ "

"...How'd you get here?"

" _We don't know. There was a flash of light and we were suddenly just a little way from this village. It must sound crazy to you_."

Snake sighs. "It's crazy that an animal is talking to me. But wait! It gets crazier because that's how we got here, too."

" _How peculiar. Perhaps it is fate._ "

"Do you believe someone is behind this?" Roy asks. "Or perhaps this is a more common occurrence. I've never heard about any working portals..."

" _We've been pulled from different worlds and have come together here. Unless this is a common mishap, it must mean something is going on, whether natural or otherwise_."

While they continue to talk, Snake picks up a newspaper from the table. The leading article reads:

_TOURNEY FIVE TO BRING THOUSANDS_

_Tayll is at the front lines of the buzz that heralds the fifth Smash Brothers Tournament, the biggest event on this world's calendar. The crowd is set to be bigger than ever, with local analyst Carmen Roemon estimating a crowd of 11 000, over 2000 more than last year. Princess Peach and Princess Zelda, the Coordinators of the tournament_

Snake ignores the rest and flips open the newspaper. He's grateful the paper isn't very thick, and scans the pages for columns that might mention other worlds or any unusual activity.

On the second-last page he sees a modest heading in the corner:

_PUBLIC NUISANCE_

_A human man has been seen wandering Tayll Village for the past few days and has allegedly harassed several stall owners. They have reported that on separate occasions he has displayed aggression in haggling to buy miscellaneous goods for negligible prices. Appearance: roughly 160cm, heavy build, thick black moustache. Seen wearing a jacket and biker's helmet. He is unknown to Tayll authorities – any information on him is appreciated._

The notice is accompanied by a blurry photo of a man with a bizarre zig-zag moustache, his face distorted into some unpleasant shape between a smirk and a grimace.

_Cheapskate?_

" _Pardon?_ " Lucario asks. She coughs aloud. " _...I apologise for overhearing. What did you say?_ "

Snake holds the page up for Lucario and Jigglypuff. "A public nuisance," Snake explains briefly. "He's been a recent thorn in the village's side."

Roy and the two Pokémon move closer for a better view. The child in the blue parka continues browsing through the brochures.

" _I hate to be judgemental,_ " Lucario says, " _but I wouldn't immediately trust him._ "

Snake drops the paper back onto the table, which Roy picks back up to read. Something squeaks suddenly and Roy nearly drops the paper in fright.

" _Jigglypuff says perhaps we should keep an eye out for him to do some good service to the village,_ " Lucario says.

"Who?" Snake asks.

" _Jigglypuff._ " Lucario gestures to the Balloon beside her. " _She's not telepathic, so I must transfer messages on her behalf in the meantime_." She turns to Roy, who is fumbling with some loose pages and muttering under his breath. " _She must have made that squeak that frightened you so._ "

"Puff," a high-pitched voice says.

" _She apologises._ "

"That's alright," Roy says, finally setting the paper right and placing it back on the table.

"So how are we all getting back?" Snake mutters.

"Good question!" another voice answers, coming from the receptionist's direction. They see the girl in the pink parka, waving to them. "You two have the same problem as well? The receptionist just told me there's a reference centre out the back."

Snake stares at Lucario, expecting an explanation for the child's intrusion.

" _She's an acquaintance,_ " the Pokémon replies. " _She and her brother were spirited away from their mountain home in likeness of Jigglypuff and I, only to find themselves in a heap at the village's entrance. And before you ask, the brother is the one in blue over there._ "

"Someone referred to me?" the child in the blue parka says, turning around to face them. He catches Snake's eye for an uncomfortable moment before focusing on Lucario.

" _It seems we're all in the same situation, Popo. All six of us._ "

"Hello?" the girl in the parka interrupts. "Do you guys wanna get home or not?"

"Nana, don't be so pushy," Popo berates.

"Come along," the receptionist—a human woman—says. "We have records that might point you in the right direction." She beckons them before opening a door previously hidden in the wall behind the counter.

They find themselves in a dark room. The receptionist switches the lights on, revealing the room to be lined with shelves of books and files.

"Your friend filled me in on your situation," she says as she moves over to a computer at the side of the room. "As far as I know, it's unheard of. But perhaps the records say otherwise."

She sits down at the computer and adjusts her glasses. Snake remembers the rustic village just outside the building and wonders what decade they're in.

"Where's the tech from?" he questions.

"The technology? Early twenty-first century Earth."

"'Twenty-first century'? What, there's others?"

The receptionist doesn't reply for a second as she types. "You really have no idea where you are? Our visitors are not usually so disorientated." She continues as she searches through some manner of digital records. "I'll give you the basics. There are many worlds linked by portals to this one. For you, it should only be a matter of locating your corresponding portals and sending you on your way."

She beckons them to the computer.

"What is this device?" Roy wonders. Snake isn't sure whether fascination or the monitor lights up his face more.

"A computer. Sounds like you've never seen one before. I guess in a way, you're lucky to be here." The receptionist points to the monitor, on which she has opened a map of a landmass. "This is the world we're in now. So, where are you all from? I'll tell you where to go."

*.*.*.*.*

"How are you feeling, Snake?"

"Like I'm in a dream. You seem fine with everything."

"Well, I wouldn't like to lie."

"Then you're a pretty good actor."

"I suppose it's a habit."

Snake decides to dig deeper into Roy's ominous statement another day.

The receptionist, after briefing the group on a travel plan to get them all to their portals and organising a guide, directed them to the local inn which was just across the square. By the gracious sympathy of the toucan innkeeper, the vagabonds had been allowed three rooms between them for the night. Immediately after a hearty dinner, they had retreated to their rooms, save for the curious Nana, who—despite the exhausting interdimensional jump—insisted on exploring the village. Popo had reluctantly followed to keep her out of trouble.

Night had since fallen and the pair had not yet returned.

"Should we look for them?" Roy asks.

Snake groans quietly. "I feel like I've got jet lag." He frowns to himself—communicating with this young general without the neologisms of time would be challenging.

Luckily, Roy does not ask what a jet is.

"I'm going out," Roy finally announces. Snake hears a creak as Roy rises from the bed. He retrieves his sword and disappears through the door, which shuts with a quiet  _click_.

Snake stretches and wonders if it's safe to let three unsupervised minors out in the dark of night. It is very quiet, especially compared to the bustle of the day, and while it ought to entice sleep, it instead makes him uneasy. He eventually swings his legs over the bed's edge and stands to leave, the wooden floorboards creaking beneath his feet.

He hears a voice: " _Snake?"_

He turns to face the door but finds it's still closed. Then he remembers.  _Lucario, right?_

_"Yes. You'll look for them, too?"_

_Probably should._

" _Make haste..."_  The voice comes through unusually strained and seems to reverberate inside Snake's skull.

_What makes you say that?_

" _That wasn't me."_

_Then who?_

_"Perhaps an eavesdropper. Hold on... Jigglypuff says she heard the voice, too."_

Then there's a distant shriek.

Snake swears under his breath and hopes that it isn't one of the kids. He rushes to the window and wrenches it open. From there he has a view of the village square and the main street.

Beneath the arch at village entrance is a large, vaguely humanoid figure. It moves with the whirr of gears, and among the madness of the day, is perhaps the last thing Snake expected to see—a robot. And if his eyes aren't deceiving him, some smaller figures are standing near it.

He climbs out the window and, keeping to the looming shadows of the buildings, begins making his way over. He eventually recognises the three figures on the ground as Roy and the parka siblings. He observes the scene from behind some empty barrels.

"Leave him alone!" Nana brandishes her mallet. "We're armed!"

There's a nasally, mocking laughter that Snake doesn't recognise. "You're a fool to challenge this technological masterpiece!"

Snake hears Nana laugh scornfully in response. He hears shuffling behind him, and finds Lucario and Jigglypuff next to him. They say nothing, but look on with concern.

"Please let him go." It's Roy, addressing the opponent sternly. A hand hovers near his sword's hilt. "He has nothing to do with this!"

"It's his fault for getting in my way! The kid should learn to open his eyes a little. I'll be teaching him how."

The robot is in a crouch but still manages to be twice as tall as a man. Its left hand is in the air, and something squirms in its grasp.

Then there's an unfamiliar, youthful voice. "You can't hurt me, loser! Now let me go!"

Laughter again. Then the robot slams its left fist down into the dirt, creating a small quake and a cloud of dust. A terrified shriek rings out.

Snake aims and fires his SOCOM, but the man must have seen him and ducks as the bullets fly past.

"Hey!" Snake yells, completely emerging from behind the barrels. "Get away from that thing!"

Popo spins around to face him.

"Sir!" Snake can see his shocked expression in the dark. "It's the man from the newspaper—he's controlling this...  _thing_ and has taken a hostage! What do we do?"

Before Snake can reply, there's a flash and the sound of crystal breaking. The dust settles, revealing Roy with his flaming sword jammed into one of the robot's ankle joints, which is spluttering electricity.

"We'll ask one more time," he warns, wrenching the blade out. The flame extinguishes itself while the robot's joint creaks and shudders in the darkness. "Release him or we—"

"Leave it alone!" Snake shouts. "Do you want to get yourself killed by that thing?!"

There's more cackling.

Roy turns his head. "Snake, you're here!"

The robot's right arm swoops down like a hawk. A second later, Roy is being held in the air. There's a yelp and a soft  _thump_  as the other young hostage is dropped on the ground.

"Damn it!" Roy's still holding his sword, but the robot's weak points are beyond his range.

"I let him go, like you asked!" the man mocks. Snake now spots the man sitting atop the robot's head. The light of a glowing panel lights up his face, and Snake sees the zig-zag moustache.

"Kids, stay back," Snake commands as he approaches the robot and its controller. Popo pulls a resistant Nana back. Snake stares up at the man. "What do you want? Why are you harassing these children?"

"I'm here to make sure you all stay where you need to be," the man responds, leering down at the group. Snake meets his gaze. "No one will be leaving this village without contending with this robot."

"So, you're terrorising people!"

The robot leans over so that its head nearly touches the ground. The man is nearly at eye-level with Snake. The stench of garlic worms its way into Snake's nose as the man grins.

There's a sudden  _clang_  from the robot's right side. Roy is trying to cut himself free.

"Thought the element of surprise would help you, eh?" the man taunts. The robot's grip visibly tightens and Roy gasps. It prises his sword from his hands. "I'll be keeping this fascinating little souvenir. Might come in handy! Wahaha!"

"You're not funny!" Nana growls. She transfers the hostage from her arms to Popo's.

"I beg to differ!" the man says. The hand holding Roy slams into the ground. There's a flash of light and when it dies, they see that Roy is completely still. The moonlight reflects off his face as if he's made of metal.

Nana lurches forward but Snake catches her arm.

"Anyway," the man says, "I'm gonna keep a hold on your friend to show everyone what happens if you get in the way. Now scram if you don't want to end up like him."

A closer look reveals that Roy has indeed been turned to metal, frozen in a moment of terror. Snake swears out loud.

A hovering cart appears from behind a nearby building and stops beside the robot. The man leaps off the robot's head and into the cart's driver's seat. He waves at the robot and it tosses the transformed Roy into the cart.

"Be good," the man jests. "I've got places to be!" He tugs at the cart's joystick and the engine roars.

"Get back here!" Nana yells. She dashes forward with her mallet raised, but the cart circles her and is on its way before she can take a swing.

She slumps to the ground, watching the cart grow smaller on the eastern horizon. "Screw you!"

"Leave it," Snake says. "We're going back  _right_ now."

"He took Roy!" Nana protests.

"I know, but we don't need any more chaos today!"

There's a menacing  _whirr_ as the robot turns to face them, as if to solidify Snake's point.

"We'll look for him tomorrow, then," Nana declares. The robot watches as she walks back over to her sibling. Jigglypuff is already there, poring over the hostage.

Snake sighs. "Is the kid injured? That blow looked awful."

"I'm fine," the child replies softly. "I'm not hurt."

"What?" By now, Snake's eyes have adjusted to the dark and he can get a better look at the child—an anthropomorphic rabbit, unharmed.

Jigglypuff squeaks.

" _He hasn't got a scratch,"_ Lucario translates. " _Remarkable._ "

"Not really," the child says. "It's normal around here. You can't hurt people here—they just turn into trophies. Didn't you know that?"

"No," Snake says. "We don't even know how we got here."

"Did you get here by accident?"

Snake cannot answer. "We'll take you home."

*.*.*.*.*

None of them can sleep when they arrive back at the inn, so they take a table in the corner of the inn and talk, initially venting their confusion at each other until their nerves calm somewhat.

"That fighting tournament Perry mentioned sounded fun," Nana comments.

" _Who?_ " Lucario asks.

"Perry. The rabbit we saved."

" _Ah. I'm still astounded at whatever higher powers prevented the child from being seriously injured._ "

"That doesn't mean we can suddenly save the world, though," Snake warns. "We're essentially under siege and we don't know anything about this place, so we need to be careful."

"Okay," Nana says quickly. "So how are gonna save Roy?"

"We'd need to get rid of the robot, first," Popo says, shuddering involuntarily at the memory of its sheer strength. "It's very strong, but we outnumber it, and can hopefully outmanoeuvre it. I'd say we have a chance—remember how Roy went for the joint?"

" _I believe we need a smarter strategy,_ " Lucario says. " _We must avoid endangering the villagers._ "

"That's right," Snake agrees. "We can't fall out of favour of the people here." If they couldn't lay low, he at least wanted to avoid pissing off the locals by creating collateral damage.

Lucario yawns wide, her sharp teeth visible for a second. " _Sorry._ "

"Maybe we should sleep on it and compile ideas tomorrow," Popo suggests.

"That's a terrible idea," Nana protests.

"I'm doing it, anyway."

And the others follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] According to the footnotes of an early version of this chapter, 'snakes' was the first word I thought of ;)))


	4. Twin Sieges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Subspace's influence begins to become apparent as our two parties are intercepted by twin sieges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's our final ragtag group!

**Chapter Three: Twin Sieges**

* * *

"Take that, you monster!"

" _Hrgh! What is your problem?_ "

"You betrayed me!"

" _Excuse me? Hrk!_ "

" _You were planning to eat me! That's why the other Pokémon were afraid of you—they knew you were dangerous!_ "

"Argh!  _Hold your fire! You are mistaken. I mentioned my calibre, yes? Why your instincts told you to flee? That is due to my power alone—I have neither the desire nor need to deceive other Pokémon. I would especially not like to waste time engaging in idle talk._ "

" _…You're telling the truth? Why are you so strong, then?"_

 _"That is a separate tale altogether, capricious one. But if you look around, you'll see that we are no longer where we used to be…_ "

*.*.*.*.*

Olimar thanks his lucky stars for perhaps the millionth time that his Pikmin had accompanied him to this strange new realm.

He's also glad that he has acquired a companion who can talk and doesn't need to be issued orders. A tall, imposing companion, but a companion nonetheless. He is also just about as lost as himself, which will make confiding any confused ramblings in a modicum less embarrassing.

His name is Captain Falcon. Upon their first meeting the previous day, the first thing that struck Olimar was his size _—_ perhaps three times his own height, but, when he thought about it, much smaller than he expected any other species to be. The second thing was that they were both 'captains'. However while he was more specialised in exploration, he had learned that Falcon was involved in racing _—_ something he could never imagine himself handling very well at all.

These pleasant surprises had become small mercies in orientating himself in this new world _—_ a village called Orfan, as far as he could see (literally—the village was surrounded by a dense pine forest). Knowing that he wasn't alone was making the whole experience somewhat less overwhelming. That and the fact that he had different types of Pikmin with him, which might prove strategically advantageous in the near future.

Earlier today they'd met a set of four strange characters (though by now, he shouldn't really be considering anything strange _—_ he's seen it all): a child with a sword, an anthropomorphic wolf, a bipedal feline and some sort of electric mouse. Turned out they were in the same situation as himself and Falcon _—_ complete strangers that suddenly  _appeared_  out of thin air _—_ and they're currently about to leave the village to reach their respective portals back home.

It's all very surreal.

"Hurry up, kid!" Wolf shouts. He crosses his arms, watching as the child swordsman, Link[1], reluctantly walks away from a nearby window sill. "You had the opportunity to look at shiny things yesterday."

"I was confused!" Link complains. "None of it sunk in."

"Do you want to go home or not?"

Link looks at his feet sheepishly. "It'd be nice to bring something home."

Wolf sighs.

Captain Falcon snickers and says to Link, "You'd better make it quick."

Olimar hears a triumphant "Yes" as Link rushes back to the window sill. He turns around and for a minute he's lost Mewtwo and Pichu, but then he spots them sitting very still on a bench on the other side of the street. Despite their proximity, neither is making eye contact and Olimar feels the awkwardness radiate off them.

It takes a minute for Link to return with a small package and a wide grin on his face. Mewtwo stands and Pichu leaps off the bench.

" _Are we ready to go?_ " Mewtwo asks.

"Outta my way!" a voice yells.

Without further warning, a cart comes speeding down the street. It swerves into Link, throwing him hard against a nearby wall and Olimar's heart nearly out of his chest. Olimar tries leering after the driver but the vehicle's metallic cargo manages to reflect the sunlight directly into his eyes.

Luckily for any other potential crash victims, the street is mostly empty. The cart rounds the bend and disappears. Link is dazed but indignant and once he's regained his senses, a fresh bout of anger blossoms when he sees he's dropped his package.

Olimar does a quick headcount of his Pikmin before staring at Link.

"You're not hurt?" he asks, dumbfounded. "But that vehicle was going so fast."

Link eventually realises he's being talked to and stops grumbling under his breath about his souvenir.

Wolf unleashes a gravelly sigh. "You'll need a check-up. I don't want a dead kid on my hands, right now."

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

Wolf growls and barely resists baring his fangs. Link holds up his hand in surrender.

" _This road is obviously not meant for vehicles,_ " Mewtwo observes, noting the assortment of obstacles that clutter the road as if it were an abandoned alleyway. " _Something isn't right._ "

Pichu squeaks softly in agreement.

" _Let's get some aid. Before anything else happens._ "

*.*.*.*.*

The six emerge from the medical centre no worse for wear, Link having passed the assessment of the village doctor and his enthusiastic Infernape.

"Told you I was fine," Link teases.

"Good," Wolf says curtly.

"We can meet up with guide now, right?" Olimar asks apprehensively, before doing a quick headcount of his five Pikmin to calm his nerves.

"If nothing else happens..." Wolf mutters.

They walk down the main street in silence, headed for the village entrance where the guide Captain Falcon arranged for would be meeting them.

Some minutes later, the ground begins to vibrate erratically. They hear screams from ahead and a cloud of dust blows past their feet.

Wolf releases a grating sigh.

Link, who decides he's had enough of Wolf's lack of enthusiasm, runs ahead. Pichu is on his heels.

"What are you doing?!" Olimar cries.

"We're gonna help!" Link responds. He unsheathes his sword.

"It might be dangerous!"

"Exactly!"

The pair are about to round the bend but they stop in their tracks. The two captains quicken their pace. Mewtwo and Wolf reluctantly follow.

"Well, then," Falcon deadpans when they've caught up.

A large, bipedal robot is pacing around the village entrance, kicking up dirt with each tremendous step. The villagers are fleeing up the main street. There's triumphant cackling coming from the robot's direction.

"This robot is your guardian, now!" the cackler announces.

"He sounds awful already," Link growls. "Come on, you guys!"

"Oh no," Wolf argues. "Do you want to get home or not?!"

Link shoots him a searing glare before charging ahead again with Pichu.

"C'mon, man," Falcon says to Wolf, "kids will be kids. All we can do is help them not get hurt." With that, he hurries after Link and Pichu.

" _The robot is blocking the village entrance_ ," Mewtwo finally. " _I don't think we'll be leaving before someone deals with it."_

"Does it have to be us?" Olimar laments. He looks on forlornly before eventually rallying his Pikmin and hurrying onward.

Mewtwo gives one last piercing look at Wolf.

"We can't help playing babysitter, can we?"

" _No._ "

So they advance.

*.*.*.*.*

Popo arrives at Jigglypuff and Lucario's room and is very relieved to find them there, after having walked past Snake and Roy's empty one.

"Where's Snake?" he asks them. "I didn't find him in his room this morning."

" _He left to scout out some information_ ," Lucario says. " _Unfortunately I am not familiar enough with his aura to locate him._ "

Jigglypuff squeaks and her thought shortly follows. " _You look like you've been out and about, Popo._ " Lucario had spent the morning attempting to facilitate a psychic channel for Jigglypuff to speak to their party through, and had partially succeeded after significant mental effort on both their parts. She'd still need to calibrate it to Snake once he returned.

"Yeah, I asked what people knew about the robot and if they had any countermeasures against it. I don't know who is in charge around here, so I just asked some random people at the market. Apparently, this siege was a complete surprise and there is no formal defence force to speak of."

" _Are the people alright?_ " Jigglypuff asks.

"There was no evidence of panic. Significantly fewer people at the market than yesterday, though."

Jigglypuff almost appears to deflate.

" _No defence, you say?_ " says Lucario.

"No. Not anywhere in this land, in fact. I find it unusual."

" _Agreed. Thank you for your diligence, Popo._ " Lucario nods her head and Popo finds it appropriate to return the gesture. " _Where is your sister?_ "

"As much energy as she displays during the day, she likes to sleep in late. She'll be very awake once I remind her that we've got people to rescue."

Lucario laughs. " _You'd better go do that._ "

Popo disappears from the doorway, leaving Lucario and Jigglypuff alone.

" _I feel bad for doing nothing to help,_ " Jigglypuff says.

" _Well, we can't know how these people would react to creatures like us, one of whom can speak through minds._ "

Jigglypuff lets out a deflated sigh. They hear a yell from the other side of the wall.

"Why the hell didn't you wake me up earlier, Popo?!"

They don't hear the reply, but they do see Nana burst through the doorway.

"Good morning!" she chimes. "Are we ready to go?"

Popo blocks the doorway before she can leave without checking if anyone is following her.

"Shut up, Popo!"

"I didn't say anything."

"Come  _on_!"

"I didn't even fill you in on what I found out! And Snake isn't back yet, either."

Nana throws her head back and groans, but sits down against the wall and waits for Popo to give them the lowdown. Just as Popo opens his mouth, Snake suddenly materialises behind him, scaring the words into a small  _yip_.

"You didn't miss me, did you?" Snake grunts.

"A little," says Popo, after the fright in his chest diminishes. "What have you found out?"

"Not much. Got a feel for the laws of the land, so to speak. Apparently people can't be killed around here."

"What?" Nana exclaims.

"If you get hit hard enough, you turn into metal until someone 'brings you back', whatever that means."

" _I saw that happen to our friend last night_ ," says Jigglypuff, bowing her head in a moment of sadness.

" _Then we have a great advantage,_ " Lucario contemplates. " _We can take a few more gambles._ "

"Sounds too good to be true," Snake says. "The moonlight might have been playing tricks on our eyes yesterday, and there could be other things afoot."

"So what about the robot?" Popo asks. "Has anyone confronted it, yet?"

"The folk are generally avoiding it and the outskirts of town where it patrols. The robot is too fast for any messengers to slip by, and anyone who approaches from the outside is unable to leave, so it'll be up to us if the rest of the world is as technologically modest as this village."

"Then, let's get to it!" Nana proclaims.

*.*.*.*.*

"So, how are we gonna kick some robot butt?" Nana whispers.

The band of five have positioned themselves behind some crates a few metres from where the robot is standing, just beyond the village arches.

"I'm thinking we shouldn't all go out at once," Snake says, "so that the enemy can't size us all up immediately. We need a distraction, then someone else can sneak up behind it and try to get it under control. It could prove useful."

"Distraction, got it," Nana says, and springs out from behind the crates.

"Nana, wait!" Snake dives out to grab her but misses by a hair. He darts back behind the crates and watches intently.

"Hey!" Nana yells, waving her mallet above her head. The robot turns to face her. Its double-pronged helmet gleams in the sunlight.

She strides towards it with her mallet over her shoulder. The robot watches but remains still. She whistles a tune as she begins circling the robot, gradually drawing closer as she moves.

Popo rises but Snake holds him back. They groan when Nana manages to, relative to them, position herself behind the robot, so their view of her is obstructed.

When Nana is about five metres away from the robot, it pushes itself off its haunches with its bulky green hands. Its metallic joints creak as it stands to its full height, placing Nana in its shadow.

It suddenly turns its head to stare into the distance before it leaps over Nana and charges past the crates and down the main street, leaving clouds of dust in its wake.

" _What prompted that?_ " Lucario wonders.

"It probably caught someone else trying to escape," Snake grunts. "I guess now we'll have to stop the locals from interfering."

*.*.*.*.*

The cackling man[2], who they'd learnt was the one who'd nearly run them over earlier, had left in his empty cart to let the robot do its work. He'd called the robot Thalleom, and it seemed intent on standing its ground.

Captain Falcon lands a heavy, flaming punch into the Thalleom's leg. It barely dents the metal, and his attack is reciprocated by the robot swinging a leg at him, which he narrowly avoids by diving beneath the crook of the incoming leg.

Wolf is standing behind Thalleom to try and climb it, but it's moving about too erratically for him to get a decent foothold. Link aims his grappling hook to take out its eyes, but is having similarly little success. Mewtwo is hovering just off the ground and circling the robot as it stomps around, looking for a weakness in its construction.

Pichu, Olimar and the Pikmin watch timidly from a distance.

Falcon slides through Thalleom's legs, stands up and delivers a strong kick to its back. Mewtwo advances and grabs the base of its neck. Dark energy crackles through the robot's body and momentarily paralyses its upper half. Thalleom then swivels around with its arms out. Mewtwo jerks back in midair while Falcon and Wolf are knocked back by Thalleom's orange, rubbery hands as the last of the dark energy sputters out.

Pichu squeals in horror as his companions go flying. Without a thought he charges forward with a crackling cloud forming above him. He leaps at Thalleom's head.

An orange hand shoots up and catches him in midair.

" _Pi!_ " Pichu's reserve of electricity escapes him, but refuses to travel through Thalleom's insulated hand.

Link's grappling hook latches onto Thalleom's wrist and he tugs. As Thalleom begins to pull back, Wolf fires some shots at the hand in an attempt to stun it.

Olimar jolts as he realises that he can help. He orders his Pikmin into a chain formation and throws them at the offending wrist. Thalleom is immobilised for a moment, but then it brings its other hand around and lets out a mighty tug.

Link and Olimar go flying with their ropes. Thalleom spins them around like a discus, then brings them to ground level and smashes them into Mewtwo and Captain Falcon before flinging them and Pichu past the tree line. Falcon and Mewtwo collide with the hard trunks of a tree before they feel their bodies seize up and they lose consciousness.

Thalleom snorts through its three-pronged helmet before charging down the path to deal with some other potential escapees.

Link, Wolf and Pichu barely register a flash of light nearby as they eventually come to a stop on the ground. But Olimar is the first to his feet, scrambling to locate his Pikmin. Before he can find them, he finds a metallic statue of what looks like Captain Falcon at the base of a tree.

He shrieks.

Wolf, though dizzy, notices that he doesn't have a scratch even though he had just taken a harsh tumble across about thirty feet of forest floor—it's vexing.

Link rushes over to Olimar.

"What is it?" he cries.

Olimar points to the statue of Captain Falcon with a quivering finger.

"What the hell is going on?" Wolf growls. He spots the statue, walks up to it and raps his knuckles on Falcon's forehead. "What the hell is this?!" He kicks the golden base of the statue in a sudden, frustrated jerk.

A flash of light from the statue catches them off guard.

"Ah!"

When the light dies down, the statue is no longer there. In its place, Captain Falcon is on his knees and breathing heavily.

Wolf groans. "What the  _f_ —"

"Captain Falcon!" Link exclaims, crouching down to assist him. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Falcon replies, holding his head. He winces before looking up at the others with a crooked grin. "I guess we won't be trying that again for a while."

Wolf shoulders past Link and grabs Falcon by his scarf, shoving him up against the tree.

"What the hell did you just do?" Wolf growls, baring his fangs.

"H-huh?" Falcon has his hands up in surrender but is glowering at Wolf's animalistic display.

"What's that metal shtick you just pulled off? What did you do? Who's working with you?"

Falcon is silent for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I'm just as confused as you, buddy."

Wolf shoves Falcon again so that Falcon is almost off the ground (as close as he can manage with his inferior Lylatian height)[3], knocking his head against the tree trunk. "I'm sure you are."

"No, really! Are you just gonna hold me here until you hear the answer you think you want to hear?"

"Explain what you just did!"

"I said I—"

"You turned into metal!" Link exclaims. "Then Wolf kicked you and you returned to normal!"

"He knows what he did," Wolf growled.

" _I don't believe so._ "

Wolf, Falcon and Link turn to see Mewtwo, Olimar and Pichu standing behind them, with Olimar's recovered Pikmin.

Wolf loosens his grip on Falcon slightly. Falcon makes no attempt to move. Wolf stares at Mewtwo, demanding an explanation.

" _I was also turned to metal,_ " says Mewtwo, " _but Olimar brought me back while you were squabbling._ "

Link pouts and says, "I wasn't squabbling."

" _Apparently I became metal when I lost consciousness. Olimar returned me to normal by touching the base of my statue. He noticed that Falcon had turned back when you kicked the base, Wolf._ "

"Or did you lose consciousness when you became metal?" Falcon wonders. Wolf sighs and suddenly releases his grip but Falcon catches himself.

"So what good is all this?" Wolf grumbles. "We can't get out of here with that metal bastard blocking the way."

"Oh!" Olimar suddenly shouts. Olimar's hand flies to his mouth and Wolf scowls at the interruption.

" _You have something to say?_ " Mewtwo coaxes.

Olimar stumbles over his words for a moment before saying, "I remember seeing a metal statue on the back of that man's cart."

"He didn't have anything when he left," Link says.

"He must have dropped it off somewhere while we were at the medical centre. Well, dropped a 'who' somewhere. I believe it may have been a person, turned to metal like you two were, and—this is a reach—but if they were brought in that state, I'd assume it was against their will."

"I don't follow," Wolf says, almost too quiet to hear.

"We found Falcon and Mewtwo each at the base of a tree, so I'd assume they slammed into it after they were thrown. The blow must have triggered that metallic transformation. None of us ran into anything, so we didn't get hit hard enough to be transformed."

"So this supposed person was knocked out and brought here, you say?" Falcon says.

"What does that have to do with us?" Wolf snaps.

"I-I don't think that it's right to ignore what I saw," Olimar stammers, shrinking away from the irate Wolf.

"Well, you might have been hallucinating."

"Well, I'd like to do a good deed!"

"So, where do you suggest we start looking?"

At this, Olimar loses his voice and tenses up.

"Lay off," Link says, stepping forward. "I'd like to help, too."

"I like your spirit," says Captain Falcon with a grin.

" _I'm hesitant to help, as you are, Wolf,_ " Mewtwo says, " _but perhaps good will come our way in return._ "

Wolf's ear twitches and he lets out a groan. He pokes Olimar in the chest with a clawed finger and says, "Fine, but you'd better have a good idea of where to start."

*.*.*.*.*

Before the end of the day, posters are up all around Tayll alerting the villagers to stay away from the village outskirts so their attack can be planned without interruption. Snake notes this as he returns to the inn, and finds his party congregated on the lower floor.

"They may not have a military, but their word sure travels quick," Snake says with a hint of irony.

" _Sometimes the word is more powerful,_ " Jigglypuff sighs. " _And aren't they nice, doing all that printing for us! If only we had something in return for the people at the newsagency._ "

"Though, now the whole village expects us to be able to deal with the robot," Popo mutters, sinking into the lounge with his arms folded. "I sure hope it can't read."

"Even if it could, we'd pound it to bits," Nana says.

" _Speaking of which, perhaps we should elaborate on our plan that was so rudely interrupted earlier today,_ " Lucario suggests. " _Snake, you suggested a distraction and a sneak attack if I heard correctly._ "

"You did. And if no one else has any better ideas then I think we should begin delegating."

Despite herself, some time into their plan, Nana feels her attention slip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] Say hello to Toon Link. Maybe I'm overthinking/being meta but he's the only Link in this bunch so the nickname seems out of context in-universe. I briefly addressed this pet peeve of mine in a silly fic I wrote back in 2015, which is actually the most recent piece of fanfic I published before this one lmao.
> 
> [2] This is Wario btw. He's now fulfilled his role and left this story to go participate in my SSE fic. big nasty
> 
> [3] This contradicts some obscure canon publication, but I headcanon that Lylatians are short compared to humans. So, for example Falco is tall for a Lylatian but he's probably like 5'9" which I'm guessingisn't too remarkable (I'm short myself so...)
> 
> a/n cont.:
> 
> a) I hope this isn't confusing (my bad). The gist is that these characters were pulled into the 'World of Trophies' and have congregated into two groups in two villages, one in Tayll and the other in Orfan, to take names, kick butt and eventually return home.
> 
> b) inb4 I call (Toon) Link 'Toon Link'. (His real name is... Tink.)
> 
> Next chapter is when we finally begin to hit some more recently written stuff...
> 
> Have a nice day!


	5. New Limits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snake's group discovers just what they and their enemies are capable of. Meanwhile, some shady goings-on are unearthed in a small forest village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter edited 15 Jan 2018 to account for a day the very smart author failed to account for.

**Chapter Four: New Limits**

* * *

Night falls, and Popo knows exactly where Nana went.

But he doesn't tell the others to keep from disturbing them. If they're going to break the siege, they'll need to be prepared. The others will need a good night's sleep.

Popo sighs wistfully, but rubs his eyes and keeps trudging down the dirt path towards the village entrance. It takes him a moment, but he finds Nana crouched behind the crates that thankfully haven't yet been moved by the locals—perhaps they're still too afraid to approach the robot.

"What are you doing here?" Nana hisses.

Popo says nothing except with his eyes,  _Hypocrite._

"If I can do this by myself, then I'm gonna." Nana adjusts her grip on her mallet.

"Don't be ridiculous," Popo says. "We don't even know what it's capable of."

"Well, it doesn't know what  _I'm_  capable of, either."

"Nana, we're great at ice climbing, but this is something entirely different. We've never fought except over toys!"

"If I can do this, then the others don't have to put themselves in danger. And if something does happen, you can call the others and take it down while it's distracted by me. Am I wrong?"

As usual, Popo is beaten by Nana's flawed yet confident logic. It's just that he prefers to be more prepared for these things. If he doesn't think of something soon, his sister is going to face Indeom on her own and he'll be at an even greater loss as to what to do, and he might end up doing something equally rash.

"Stay here, Popo," Nana says, and steps out from behind the crate.

Popo's breath hitches in his throat. He doesn't believe himself to be adequate backup, but he can't take his eyes off Nana to go look for their companions.

So he watches on.

Nana's steps are quiet on the dirt. Indeom doesn't seem to acknowledge her presence until she's once again about five metres away from it. She's dwarfed by it, and the robot's form threatens to swell in the obfuscating darkness.

 _Take that, you big meanie,_  Popo thinks, biting his lip. It's all he can do to stop himself from running out there and attacking Indeom himself so Nana doesn't have to.

Nana paces in front of Indeom. It watches her movements intently, head creaking slightly.

Nana makes the first move. She dashes forward, taking a mighty swing at one of its arms. Indeom shifts out of the way and grabs at her with its other arm. Nana darts beneath its underside and hefts her mallet.

"Take this!" she cries. The mallet flies into the leg.

It has no effect.

Nana is struck by the recoil and feels her bones rattle violently. She breaks out of her daze only in time to see a green hand descend upon her.

"NANA!" Popo shrieks. He charges out from the behind crates and tackles Nana out of the way of the hand just as it slams into their previous spot. They tumble onto the dirt.

Popo sees the green hand headed for him, now.

He shields his face, but doesn't feel the incoming blow.

Popo opens her eyes and sees that something cold is streaming from Nana's outstretched palms. Half of Indeom's arm is partially frosted over, enough to stop its movement for the moment.

"Heck yeah!" Nana exclaims. She grins proudly at Popo.

"How are you doing that?" Popo's eyes are wide and he'd smile if he weren't so bewildered.

They feel strong arms sweep them off the ground.

 _Indeom?_  Popo panics. No, it's Snake. He's found them out in the dark and is carrying them away from the robot, one child in each arm.

"What's the big deal, mister?" Nana exclaims.

"We can't coordinate an attack if we're in a panic," says Snake. "We're falling back for now."

"Well,  _I'm_  not in a panic, so let me at 'em!"

"Come on, Nana," Popo says. "We're working as a team now. We have to think beyond ourselves."

Nana groans but doesn't struggle. They leave the robot behind them.

*.*.*.*.*

"It was so cool! We were completely at the robot's mercy, but a voice told me to stand my ground."

"A 'voice' told me to do that too," Popo deadpans. "That voice's name was 'mortal fear'."

" _Perhaps we have also been granted additional powers,_ " Lucario contemplates. " _It would surely help us to turn the tide in our favour._ "

"But how will we know if we were?" Snake asks. "There's got to be a better way to know than being on the receiving end of that robot's fist."

Snake feels a sharp blow to the back of the head. The blow sends his senses into a spin, but causes no pain.

"What was that for?" he hisses.

"Seeing if I could awaken your powers," says Nana, lowering her mallet when nothing happens.

"I'd rather you wouldn't. We're not completely defenceless, after all." He examines his SOCOM[1] for a moment before doing a double take.

" _What is it?_ " Jigglypuff asks.

Snake doesn't answer immediately. He rotates the SOCOM in his grip several times, and eventually replies, slowly, "I fired some shots last night, but there's no evidence that the bullets were used up—it's still fully loaded."

Nana lets out a whoop.

"Then is that your power?" Popo asks, starry-eyed.

Snake grunts but a small grin escapes him. "If it is, then I have one less thing to worry about. But that still leaves the rest of you. Any ideas?"

" _Well, I have a set of moves to base my investigations on,_ " Lucario replies. " _Aura Sphere, Force Palm, Double Team and Extreme Speed._ "

Of course the names go over Snake's head, but he makes no indication of such.

" _I also have some moves,_ " says Jigglypuff, " _however I am skeptical of their usefulness. But I will find a way._ "

"I sure hope your ice powers didn't skip a sibling," says Popo, jabbing Nana in the arm.

"You wanna go?" Nana challenges. "You might find your powers! And that your sister is better than you."

"Hey!"

"Take it outside, kids," Snake interrupts.

"It is so on," Popo declares. He and Nana rush out of the inn with their mallets.

Snake sighs, and finds himself staring at Jigglypuff and her wide turquoise eyes.

" _Kids will be kids,_ " she says with a motherly smile. " _Do you suspect you were granted any more powers?_ "

"No clue. You?"

" _I'd be surprised if I was. My repertoire is more along the lines of... performance._ "

" _Do not underestimate yourself, Jigglypuff_ ," Lucario cuts in. " _Your kind weaponises artistic flair with great finesse, am I correct? Surely if we could think of something, it would be quite surprising for the enemy_."

Jigglypuff flushes a deeper shade of pink.

"Well." Snake rises from the table with his SOCOM in hand, "I'll leave you two be to figure all this out."

" _Actually, I shall be meditating on the roof,_ " Lucario corrects him. " _If you two would excuse me._ "

And once again, Snake finds himself utterly bewildered by the Pokémon. He's almost beginning to expect it.

*.*.*.*.*

An earthquake rattles Tayll Village later that morning. For a moment, all activity and order in the village dissipates. Lockdowns are ordered but poorly enforced, and many villagers end up on the streets screaming and crying, racing through the streets in panic.

A great circular void appears in the sky, swallowing up the Smash Brothers' Stadium. The fringes of the void shimmer, hungry for more, its swelling only halted by its inability to sustain its fervently-desired growth. The residents can do nothing to increase their distance between it and them, and so fear doesn't truly disappear after the initial quake.

Indeom is unperturbed.

*.*.*.*.*

"Poor guy, we're accusing him of a crime he may not even have committed," Captain Falcon muses.

They'd managed to locate the village head and found that no one had been aware of any suspicious activity in the village that was beyond the usual, so after spending a night in one of the head's spare cabins, they departed after sleeping in late and were now taking a stroll down a road off the main street, keeping a discreet eye out for any signs of foul play. They didn't exactly want to go knocking on doors for fear their supposed adversary began to suspect  _them_.

"Poor guy if we find out he's guilty," Olimar remarks, "and we manage to do something about it." He adds this last part weakly.

"Yeah, but we don't want to look like a police patrol," Wolf mutters, arms folded.

"We don't even know what the patrols here look like," says Link, "if there are any."

"Exactly! Why are we still doing this? We have no leads and we barely know what sort of place this is. Let them figure it out, that way we don't have to get our hides tanned."

"To be fair, our suspect could not have gotten very far before unloading his captive," Olimar says. "He was in and out in the time it took for us to visit the doctor. Perhaps he did not go beyond the village—so in that respect, the siege robot isn't a problem."

"Speaking of the robot," Link says, "what happened to our guide? He's not still waiting for us, is he?"

"Probably not," Wolf replies, voice gruff. "He probably got his pants scared off like the rest of this place. Everybody's holed up inside."

And Wolf is right. The main street is empty save for their group, and while the shops aren't technically closed, all the doors and windows are shut. Even with their unfamiliarity with the village, they can tell it wasn't meant to feel like a ghost town.

" _These poor people..._ " Pichu whimpers.

"Well, as long as we can get back into contact with him when we can finally leave." Falcon shrugs.

" _He is there._ "

The until then silent Mewtwo extends a paw out, pointing into the distance to the side of the street. A young man wearing a beanie has emerged from a small bricked shop and is about to turn down an alleyway.

"Hi, Mister!" Link calls, waving his hands in greeting.

The man looks up, stares at them for a moment, then walks further into the alleyway.

"Mister, it's us!" Link rushes ahead of the group in pursuit. "We'd like to talk about our arrangement."

"You think he's involved?" Falcon suggests quietly.

"Let's see if he runs," Wolf challenges, and chases after Link and the guide.

Link reaches the alleyway to see the man round the corner, behind the shop.

"Hey," he calls. "We need to talk! Did we do something to offend you?"

Before Link reaches the bend, a flash of light blinds him for a moment. When he opens his eyes the path has been blocked by a Snorlax.

It finally dawns on Link, but he's shoved to the side by Wolf, who springs up onto the massive Pokémon's belly and then over its head.

When Wolf hits the ground, his body is stunned by a green flash. With a growl, his head snaps up to glare at the culprit, who is some distance away, pointing a ray gun at Wolf.

 _Too bad for you, your hands are shaking_.

Just as the paralysis fades, the man shoots again but misses. Wolf flashes forward and tackles the man. They struggle, but Wolf wrestles the gun out of his grip and plants himself on top, pressing the man's head against the dirt with a clawed hand. The man's beanie had flown off his head at some point but Wolf can't see where, and could care even less.

"That's no way to treat your clients," Wolf says into the man's ear, grinning so that his fangs gleam.

He hears several pairs of footsteps behind them and tightens his grip on the man, in case the others manage to divide his attention in some way.

They don't, thank Lyla.

"I-I just thought I was being chased by criminals," the man stammers, "I haven't done anything, I swear! If you—"

"You looked at us a  _tad_  too long for me to believe that. You recognised us. Why'd you run?"

The man squirms but Wolf holds his ground.

"Did it have to do with some sort of statue?" Wolf asks. "Or perhaps a  _captive_?"

"You don't know how things work around here, do you?" the man taunts. Clumsily, he adds, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play that game, we're smarter than that. What's in it for you?"

The man is silent for a while and his body relaxes. Wolf anticipates the following thrashing around and pushes the man's head down harder into the dirt.

"Maybe next time, sunshine." Wolf whistles.

"It's just a little money," the man utters. "Things aren't exactly a palace here, as you could probably tell."

"Thank you. Is there anyone else involved?"

"Just me."

Wolf decides he doesn't believe the man, but slackens his grip anyway as a mercy in response to the man's sorry expression.

"Lead us to the captive," Wolf commands.

"No way."

"You've been caught and told us so much already. May as well finish the job."

"I'm not spilling."

"If you continue being difficult, I could hit you very hard."

"And then what would you do? My trophy lying in a back alley would look  _mighty_  suspicious, wouldn't you say?"

The comment momentarily confuses Wolf, and the man conjures up a sudden strength, enough to slip out of Wolf's grip.

A green light flies above Wolf's head and paralyses the man before he can take a step to escape. Captain Falcon appears in his field of vision, drops the ray gun and grabs the man by the collar, hoisting him into the air.

"Come on, man," Falcon says, "we don't need to treat you like a criminal. You seemed like a nice guy."

"I'll say nothing!"

"Want me to hit him?"

"No!"

"Then—"

"It's my house!" The man covers his face with his hands and groans.

Falcon lowers the man but keeps a grip on his arm. "Which one is it?"

The man grimaces before replying, "It's not too far. Up the road, take the right and a left, it's the one with the broken front window."

Falcon raises his other hand and the man cringes. Falcon ruffles his hair.

"Sorry, I guess," Falcon apologises. "I think we're all a bit flustered right now."

"Okay... May I have my beanie back?"

Link sidles forward and holds out the beanie.

"Sorry, sir," Link says. "I wish we weren't so rough." He directs a piercing glare in Wolf's direction but his target isn't paying attention. "Thanks for helping us out."

"No problem," the man manages to squeeze out. "To be clear, I didn't lie about the location. But no way in hell am I going with you people. And don't mess up my house."

With that, the man crams the beanie back on his head and leaves, hunched over with his hands in his pockets.

Pichu leaps up and nuzzles into Link's arms.

"I kinda feel bad for him, too," Link murmurs, stroking its yellow fur.

"At least we know where to go next," Olimar says, wringing his hands nervously.

*.*.*.*.*

After some target practice and a quick close quarters spar with Lucario behind the inn, Snake emerges out the front door to find a crowd has assembled in the street. He walks to the edge of the wooden porch and hopes it's not a gathering drawn by some morbid curiosity.

The crowd of animals has formed a ring around two small figures who are circling each other.

 _Seems like the parka kids have a following now._  He's not quite sure if it's a good thing or not—at least the kids haven't knocked each other out.

Nana shifts her grip on her mallet and rushes forward, hefting her weapon for a mighty overhead swing. Popo sidesteps and stretches a hand out as his sister barrels past. A small cloud of frost splutters out, enough to upset her balance. She falls over and Popo advances, but she rolls to the side and throws her mallet into his side and sends him stumbling several metres, almost to the edge of the crowd.

"You okay?" Nana calls as she staggers to her feet.

"Kickin'."

After a moment, he rushes her and Nana holds out a hand. Popo dodges the blizzard and swipes at her legs, but she jumps over the swing and frosts him again, then swings her mallet while he's stunned. The attack connects and he flies back again.

Snake flinches and the crowd murmurs. He's about to push himself through the circle of people when Lucario drops from the sky, landing delicately between the siblings with her paws raised.

" _Perhaps that is enough,_ " Lucario suggests. " _This is not something we want our robot to see._ "

It's unclear whether the groans of the crowd or the siblings are louder.

"But we were all having fun," Popo protests. "Even if I was the one losing."

"We thought we should provide some entertainment for these people," Nana elaborates.

" _That is kind of you, but we must remain discreet._ "

Popo sighs and lowers his mallet. "Alright. Nana?"

She frowns but doesn't object further. She turns, with one hand raised and says, "Thank you all for coming. We hope you had as much fun as we did!" She takes a sweeping bow.

There's some whoops and applause, then the crowd begins to disperse.

Snake descends the steps of the inn and says to Lucario, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

" _I know. I felt your aura from the roof._ " Lucario stares at him with her glinting ruby eyes. " _It was... intriguing. I had the feeling you were watching something unremarkable, effortless to follow_ _—_ _something that perhaps had a calibrating effect on your mind, yet you were disapproving all the same._ "

Snake feels his face tense, but says nothing.

"Hey, guys!" Nana greets them with a puffed out Popo in tow. "Found anything new?"

Snake shakes his head.

" _I'm afraid I will only discover my new limits during battle,_ " Lucario says. Before Nana can say anything, she adds, " _I am unwilling to take the risk of exposure for now._ "

"Maybe we can find a more suitable place to practice," Popo wonders. "But not now, I'm beat."

Nana snickers. "Beaten by me." Popo puts his head in his hands.

" _Hello!_ " Jigglypuff calls from the inn's entrance. " _We're serving lunch! Would anyone like to come join?_ "

"Me!" Nana and Popo rush up the stairs and disappear into the inn.

Jigglypuff chuckles after them. " _And how about you two?_ "

" _I wouldn't mind,_ " Lucario replies. Snake shrugs, and the three of them enter the inn.

He hopes they can fine-tune their plan in time for them to make their rescue.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] Okay it's not part of his moveset in-game but it was hard for me to incorporate his other weapons considering how I've set this story up.
> 
> a/n: The latter half of this chapter onwards really gets into stuff I only wrote within the past month or so, I've actually written ahead for this fic to make sure I knew what I was doing with it lmao
> 
> Have a nice day!


	6. To the Metal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The liberation of two villages from Subspace's grasp hinges on the ingenuity of two ragtag parties.

**Chapter Five: To the Metal**

* * *

They follow the guide's directions, finding their destination in a decrepit corner of the forest village. At least half the houses have peeling boards, and the wooden, graffitied fences that divide the properties don't look like they've been repaired in a while.

It's a little too quiet, but none of them say so. Captain Falcon takes the lead and they creep towards the guide's house, alert in case of an ambush. Wolf reaches for the door handle but it jams part way.

"It's locked," he grumbles.

" _There's no windows large enough to let us in,_ " Mewtwo reports after doing a quick round of the house.

"Gonna have to break it down."

"That'll attract attention," Falcon replies. "Anyone good at picking locks?"

"Uh..." Olimar says as he rummages around in the pockets of his suit. Eventually, after locating a scrunched up piece of paper, an empty wrapper and three pens, he procures two metal strips. Wolf snatches them out of his hands and gets to work.

"You're welcome," Link mutters.

Olimar sends his Pikmin through the broken window to scout. Pichu watches the plant creatures march around the first room and feels himself deflate.

_If only I were of some use..._

" _Pichu_."

The tiny mouse Pokémon squeals in surprise and turns to face Mewtwo, who is standing behind him with his arms folded.

" _You are small,_ " says Mewtwo. " _Not much ought to be expected of you._ "

Pichu's ears droop and he bows his head in agreement.

" _In time, however, you will grow. You will get stronger. Personally, I will likely never experience such growth, but I sense potential in you._ _After all, you did send me flying when we first met—not what I expected._ "

Pichu feels a spark of encouragement rush through him, and dares to make eye contact with the powerful Mewtwo.

" _Though my reasons for telling you this are selfish. Your negative energy has been a constant bother to me all day._ "

Pichu hangs his head again.

"Got it," Wolf announces. He turns the knob experimentally but doesn't yet open the door. "Are we going in?"

"Hang on," says Olimar. He whistles softly to call back his Pikmin, whispering to them for a moment before giving the others the go-ahead.

They enter the house. It is dim, the curtains block most of the afternoon sun that had managed to leak through the dense forest. The first room is lightly furnished with a circular rug and some wooden chairs to the left next to a small, empty fireplace.

Link unsheathes his sword.

Falcon resumes his place as lead, and peers around the first doorway to the right. An empty bedroom with a single bed roughly made. Falcon gestures for the others to wait and crosses the room to open the wardrobe.

"It's clothes," he announces, and returns to the group.

The next two doors open to a study and a linen cabinet. The rooms are only big enough to hide a small child, so they dismiss those two.

Next is what appears to be the kitchen and dining room. The space is too large to get a good scope of without entering, so Falcon is silent as he advances.

He looks in.

There's even less light here. The windows are small and curtained, and the back door is boarded up. To the left is a dining table. To the right is the kitchen. Along the right wall are some wooden cabinets, and in the middle of the kitchen is a bench.

A column of orange light flares out.

Falcon ducks but the others are hit and are blasted backwards. Falcon darts behind the dining table and looks back at the bench to find an ape with flames for hair standing on the table top.

"Use Flamethrower!"

The column of fire heads for Falcon once again. It misses and Falcon scans the room. If he could find the source of the voice...

"Iron Tail!"

The Infernape leaps from the bench and flips through the air towards the dining table. Falcon dodges as it swipes its metal tail through the wooden table, splitting it in two. He's about to tackle the Pokémon when a firm hand grabs his shoulder and he's shoved into the wall.

" _Leave it to me,_ " says Mewtwo. " _There are courtesies when fighting other Pokémon._ "

There's a  _ping_ and a flash of light, and a large, blue, amphibious Pokémon rushes forward, nearly trampling Mewtwo.

" _Never mind. Pichu!"_

" _Y-yes!_ "

Pichu sprints forward and headbutts the newly appeared Quagsire. He readies an electric shock.

Mewtwo backs away. Lightning shoots through the air, passing through Pichu before bouncing along to the Quagsire.

" _Ouch!_ " Pichu cries.

" _Be careful!_ " Mewtwo yells.

" _I'm sorry..._ "

"I found the little!" Wolf snarls, dashing towards the bench where a shadow is moving along the ground. He springs over the bench but his target is quicker, bounding the other way and arming himself with a chair.

Link shoots out his grappling hook at the person and it latches onto the backrest. The person pulls but Link bends his knees and pulls back hard, causing the former to lose his footing. The person lets go of the chair and it goes flying towards Link. He ducks and the chair smashes into the wall behind him, leaving a web of cracks.

"Oops."

In the time it takes for Link to regain his composure, their opponent rushes past him and down the hall presumably towards the front door. Wolf barges past soon after and leaps, managing to snare their potential escapee by the legs as they both crash to the floor. The person flails his legs, manages a kick to Wolf's face, and slips out of Wolf's grip, but Wolf whips out his blaster and aims three shots in his back.

The person jerks in the air before tripping over his own feet.

" _He's still moving?_ " Wolf growls. With the apparent weakening of his blaster, there was now officially too much going on in this place.

In the midst of Wolf's surprise, Captain Falcon catches up to their opponent and pins him to the floor. The Infernape on his heels stops in the kitchen doorway and starts screeching and stomping on the spot.

Falcon and Wolf cover their ears.

"Infernape, peace!" their opponent snaps, holding up a weak hand. The Infernape calms itself.

Falcon turns their opponent around roughly, looking closely at the man in the dim light.

"It's the village doctor!" Link exclaims. His expression is crestfallen but hard with anger. And he's right—the wide-brimmed glasses and wild brown hair match those of the doctor, and he's still wearing the apron they'd seen him in at the medical centre.

"Guess you were in it for the money, too," Wolf says.

"It's shameful, I know," the man sighs. "I was just in a bit of a tight spot."

"Well, it's not us you should be apologising to," says Falcon, loosening his grip on the man's collar a little. "But I'd like to make sure we're talking about the same thing, unless there's another grand conspiracy going on around here: you're involved with hiding a captive."

"That's correct."

"But this isn't your house."

"I suspected I should check up on him."

"You weren't tipped off about us?" Wolf accuses.

"No."

"I don't buy it, but good on you for covering your buddy's back. What do you plan on using the money on?"

"Medicine, mostly vaccines. Those are important in a place like this."

"A place like this?" Link brightens with curiosity, though with a shade of disrespect lingering in his expression.

"The junction of worlds, of course. It's remarkable there haven't been any major upsets around here considering how much from the other worlds passes through here, except for this latest robot uprising of course. That's not going to be good for the local economy, among other things. People are scared of that monster, we don't know what it's going to do."

"I think it's only interested in cutting this place off from the rest of the world," Falcon says. "It's doing a good job so far." He decides to step off the doctor and pull him to his feet, but doesn't quite let him go yet.

"We want to help," Link says.

"Maybe you can make up for my transgressions," says the doctor, scratching his head. He then calls to his Quagsire, "Return!"

He holds out a Poké Ball and the Quagsire returns in a flash of light. He stares at the red and white sphere in his hand as if in a trance. Mewtwo and Pichu emerge from the kitchen a little singed.

Captain Falcon clears his throat. "Our subject?"

"Y-yes! Right this way. It's not a trap, I promise."

The doctor and his Infernape, now quiet, lead the group through the small house, past the kitchen to a storeroom. He pulls a string and a feeble light illuminates the room. The numerous shelves are mostly empty. At the far end of the space is the person they've been looking for, still transformed to metal.

"Ouch," Falcon mutters when he sees the boy's expression. His arms are shielding his face, which from what is visible is frozen in a candidly terrified expression.

"Cover your eyes," the doctor commands as he steps forward. He bends down and touches the statue's golden base.

"—AAAGH!" There's a yell and a heavy  _thump_  as the light fades. They open their eyes to find their subject in a heap on the floor, tangled in his cape.

"Hello, mister—" the doctor starts.

The boy untangles himself and reaches around for something that isn't there before staring up at the doctor. His eyes dart around the rest of the room.

"I'm sorry," the doctor says. "Your confusion is warranted."

"Was I captured?" the boy asks.

"Yes, but I'm letting you go."

"I don't remember your face. Was I knocked out?"

"That's right. We picked you up from somewhere else."

"Then why are you letting me go?"

"I've realised the mistake I made."

"Oh." The boy looks pleasantly surprised but not entirely convinced. "Who are the rest of you?"

"We rescued you!" Olimar squeaks, then covers his mouth in embarrassment. "Well, not really. Do you want the entire story?"

The boy thinks for a moment before saying, "Perhaps later. Would you happen to know where my sword is?"

The doctor pales. "I'll get Infernape to go grab it," he says quickly. He gestures to his Pokémon, and it bounds out of the room. They hear the front door open and shut. "He shouldn't be too long, sorry for the inconvenience. What's your name?"

"Roy. And you?"

"My name is Forrest. Is there anything else I can do to help you, Roy?"

"I... think I might need help reorientating myself."

"O-of course." The doctor is silent for a moment before turning to the rest of the group, "Would you like to come over to my house for tea? I know it's a little awkward, but I'd like to make up for all this, you know."

"Uh..." Falcon looks to the rest of the group. Wolf opens his mouth but shuts it again, and no one else speaks against the doctor's idea. "Sure."

*.*.*.*.*

After digging into the varied dishes the innkeeper had provided for lunch, the group minus Jigglypuff sit back for a little while. They hear the Balloon Pokémon's voice waft in from the kitchen as she and the innkeeper do the dishes and sing some tunes. Jigglypuff's voice seems to override any of the missteps the innkeeper makes in their song. Snake feels his eyes getting heavy.

"I'm so tired," Nana slurs.

"If you go to sleep now, you'll be awake all night," Popo says, failing to suppress a yawn himself.

Snake looks across to Lucario to find that her eyes are shut and her head is beginning to lean precariously forward. Just as it seems like she's about to hit the table top, she jerks awake with a snort. Popo giggles and Nana smacks him.

"Pardon me," Lucario apologises. "I don't know what came over me..."

"Probably a pretty melody or three," Snake says.

"Hmm." Lucario gazes in Jigglypuff's direction as it all comes together.

*.*.*.*.*

The late afternoon sun shines down hot on Tayll Village. A weak wind winds through the empty streets. Jigglypuff feels beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she stares at the wooden arches that mark the village entrance.

She clears her throat and does a quick set of scales under her breath.

_It's now or never..._

She holds her head high as she strides over to Indeom, which is sitting on its haunches and staring into the distance behind Jigglypuff.

For a moment she loses her voice. Shakily, she raises a stubby arm and waves at Indeom. Its head turns to face her with a mechanical  _whirr_. The prongs on its helmet glint like knives in the bright sunlight.

Jigglypuff takes a breath, then sings a single note.

Indeom's gaze doesn't wander.

Jigglypuff takes a step to the side and begins a melodious tune[1]. As she continues, the full power of her voice begins to return to her and she finds herself stamping in the dirt in time with the melody, almost transitioning into a dance. Her voice remains strong even as she spots a pair of crates slowly creeping across the dirt.

Popo peers through the hole in the crate so they could follow the one in front.

"Sorry in advance if I trip on your feet," Nana whispers from behind him.

"You don't usually show this much foresight, Nana."

"Hey, I try to cut you some slack  _one_  time—"

"You're right, sorry."

The crate in front of them stops and they stop, too. Snake had instructed them to imitate his movements until he threw off his own cover, after that they were to decide what the best course of action was to gain advantage over the robot, ideally without going all out and rendering it useless to them.

Lucario, their wildcard, is nowhere in sight.

Jigglypuff had manoeuvered herself in a half circle, and Indeom had followed, so that its back was now to the village and the moving crates. She'd transitioned to a slower, gentler song now, and they had to think fast before they became victim to her lullaby.

Snake remains still for an impossibly long moment. Nana feels her feet begin to tingle. Indeom's not showing any obvious signs of whatever drowsiness robots are capable of feeling, but it is completely still. After he's convinced that Indeom won't turn around, Snake slowly, slowly lifts the crate, places it to the side, and begins creeping towards the robot.

Nana and Popo remove their crate and remain motionless, mallets in hand.

Jigglypuff finally sees Indeom's eyes begin to close. She doesn't dare break her gaze, or her melody. This might be one of the most important performances she's done in her life. She sings sweetly, not too loud, coaxing the robot into a complacent stupor.

Snake quietens his breath as he stands behind Indeom and looks for footholds on its complex exterior. All he has to do is hold on once he grabs them—he doesn't have a running start for this.

He bends his legs, lowers his body and springs upwards.

He finds the handholds and grips them tight. Indeom swivels around.

Nana and Popo's warcries cut Jigglypuff off as they run at the robot.

Indeom points an arm at the siblings. The appendage shifts, folding back its outer layer of metal, and launches a missile at the ground. Nana tackles Popo out of the way of the blast and is back on her feet in an instant. Indeom shoots another missile, but she dodges and closes the gap between them. She leaps and swings her mallet at its transformed arm. The attack connects and dents the metal a little—seems its interior layers are a little more fragile.

"Popo, the arms, if you can!" Nana shouts, and circles the robot as her brother gets to his feet.

Indeom grabs at her but she ducks beneath it and whacks it in the backside as a distraction—just above where Snake is dangling.

"Not here!" he yells.

"Right!"

As Indeom turns around, Popo approaches and blasts its undamaged leg with ice. It swipes at him but he ducks and continues icing the leg. Frost begins to form on its surface.

"I'll keep it on me!" Nana says. She shoots a burst of frost at its arms to attract its attention. "Popo, follow it around!"

"Yes!"

Popo tries his best to ice over the robot's leg as Nana dances through its many attacks. Snake grabs another foothold even as the robot continues to swivel and stomp around with increasing difficulty, and hauls himself up. The pilot's seat on its head is an arm's length away.

Then, with a fierce  _whirr_ , Indeom stops spinning, raises its hands, and smashes its fists into the ground. Nana and Popo are blasted by the impact and Snake is thrown off the robot's back.

They see a blue flash behind their eyelids as Lucario appears on the scene and delivers a mighty punch to Indeom's face.

Indeom swipes but Lucario weaves through its attacks. It sends a fist forward as Lucario completes a second manoeuvre. She is flung back, bouncing through the dirt. She eventually skids to a stop, coated in a layer of dust—battered, but curiously invigorated. Her aura senses tingle.

"Hey!"

Popo throws himself at its missile arm and hangs on tight. His fingers burn as Indeom shakes its arm. Its other hand comes around and plucks him off, tossing him into his sister who'd just gotten back to her feet. There's a dazzle of light.

Lucario flies forward with a vicious growl, eyes and paws engulfed in an intense blue aura. She delivers a mighty kick to Indeom's face with lightning speed. The robot flies back through the air before hitting the ground, producing a crater and a cloud of dust. It doesn't move immediately.

Snake makes a beeline for the robot. Lucario sends a volley of Aura Spheres ahead of him to prolong the robot's paralysis.

Indeom props its arms and raises its head as Snake makes one final leap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] What song is Jigglypuff singing? There's not really a 'canon' answer, but personally I think she's singing the Route 3 melody from Gen I-I'm relying on Bulbapedia to tell me that Jigglypuff is found there. I guess it's her national anthem or smth /brick'd
> 
> Forrest is actually an OC from my novelisation, appearing in Chapter 29. I didn't have a name for him back then because he wasn't as important as he is here, but he did connect this story to that one.
> 
> Also: remember Galleom from the SSE? Indeom and Thalleom are its larger brethren. If you look at the periodic table, gallium, indium and thallium are elements in the same group (column)! I put some other details in as well, not that I would have noticed if I hadn't written this myself: Galleom is purple, Indeom is green, Thalleom is orange - secondary colours in the colour wheel! Galleom has one prong on its head, Indeom has two and Thalleom has three! I'm so clever! /double brick'd
> 
> Have a nice day!


	7. Divide or Conquer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With one siege broken, there are still looming questions about who is behind the hostilities, and what sort of world our heroes have stumbled into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bleh... I edited New Limits to account for some events that happened in the SSE that I forgot about... my bad. It's basically about the Stadium being bombed and the Tayll villagers can see it from where they are. *whispering* IF YOU WANNA MAKE YOUR WAY OVER—

**Chapter Six: Divide or Conquer**

* * *

Snake lands in the pilot's quarters and holds on as Indeom reaches for its unauthorised passenger. Lucario continues firing Aura Spheres, slowing its movement, but it's clear that Indeom will pluck him off just as it did with Popo.

And then there's a squeak.

A pink ball—Jigglypuff—spins through the air and barrels into the offending arm. There's a satisfying  _snap_  and a shower of sparks, immobilising the robot just enough for Snake to locate the console and find what he's looking for: ' _MANUAL OVERRIDE_ '.

He yanks the lever and holds his breath.

Beneath his feet, Indeom sags with a dramatic  _creak_  of metal. Snake disembarks and lands in a roll as it begins to pitch forward. It sends a quake through the ground as it topples over, and finally lays still.

Lucario looks on in a trance before her legs give and and she collapses. Jigglypuff rushes over and offers her support.

Snake's eyes widen as he remembers the kids. His eyes dart around the plain and he finds a pair of silver statues a few strides away.

He jogs over to them, strangely unnerved by the way the statues glint in the afternoon glare. He remembers the way Roy had been overpowered on that confounding night, and realises perhaps he'd been haunted by that sight ever since. Despite himself, he's beginning to feel responsible for these kids, even if he's becoming increasingly sure they can handle themselves just fine.

Remembering the advice of the villagers, he taps the statues' bases and shields his eyes.

He hears groans before he sees the ice climbing siblings moving again. They're both doubled over, eyes scrunched tight. Popo is clutching his forehead.

"Kids, are you okay?"

"Headache," Popo moans. He feels like his skull is about to split open.

"Did we win?" Nana manages, voice tight from pain.

"I think so."

Nana nearly forgets her headache as she pumps a fist in the air. " _Yes_..."

*.*.*.*.*

They reach the doctor's house. It's in much better shape than the guide's, but similar in size. Forrest sets them up in the sitting room adjacent to the kitchen.

"So, how did you guys end up here?" Forrest asks. He attempts to strike up conversation as he and his Infernape prepare some tea, scones and sliced apple.

Captain Falcon opens his mouth but stops himself to check that he isn't interrupting anyone.

"Funny story, actually," he finally says. "I'm not entirely sure. Must say I was in pretty tight circumstances before coming here."

"Oh, I wish you luck."

Falcon laughs. "No no, I mean that literally. I was driving when I swerved and ended up here. Thought I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of life!"

"You saw a light?" Roy blurts. "...Or was that a metaphor?"

"No, that was literal as well." Falcon stares at the others. "What, you've also had a near-death experience?"

"I was ambushed in the armoury before I came here," says Roy.

"I was out on the ocean when we sailed into some fog and I ended up here," Link contributes.

"I was on an errand," says Olimar.

" _Pichu and I arrived here in a similar manner_ ," Mewtwo explains. " _In a flash of light. How curious. Perhaps it is a trap._ " He side-eyes the doctor.

"I've never heard of people ending up in this world  _accidentally_ ," says Forrest, his tone defensive. "The portals are marked by light, but people usually step into those deliberately. _Willingly_. You guys aren't someone's pawns, are you?"

"Are we?" Wolf returns.

"Don't keep accusing him," Link says, irritated. "Anyway, how did  _you_  get here?"

"I was on a mission."

"Cool. What sort?"

"... _Retrieval_."

"I guess  _you_  were the one retrieved," Falcon remarks.

"Forrest," Roy interrupts. "Would you happen to know anything of the situation at the place I was taken from?"

"Situation?" Forrest loses his voice for a second. "There's a situation at Tayll?"

"It's why I'm here right now, instead of over there. How far away are we? Can we reach them quickly? They'd just been placed under siege, last I was aware."

"He doesn't know about the robot," Falcon gasps. "You don't know about the robot. There's this hunk of scrap metal stationed outside our current location, and it's not letting anything through. No one prepared to challenge it has showed up so far."

"Here, too?" Roy pales.

" _Could_ we  _do anything about it?_ " Pichu wonders.

"Are you guys serious?" Forrests asks. "You're thinking of taking on the robot?"

"We ought to try," Roy says firmly.

"Who  _are_  you people?"

"An infam—uh, I'm renowned for my prowess," Wolf says, leaning back in his chair.

"As for me, I'm not really anyone super important," Falcon says. "As little Olimar here said before, I do race sometimes. Any of you important?"

" _Not worth mentioning,_ " Mewtwo responds. Link and Roy shake their heads.[1]

Forrest brings over a tray of food and sets it down on the coffee table.

"When are you guys planning on taking down the robot?" he asks cautiously.

" _We'll need time to plan our attack,_ " Mewtwo replies. " _Time to figure out our assets and liabilities, our strategy._ "

"That's true. Do you guys have a place to stay?"

"The village head offered her place yesterday but I think we're now short on her grace," Falcon says. "Do you have any recommendations?"

"A-actually, I was just wondering if you wanted to stay here."

Wolf narrows his eyes.

"Still trying to balance out your karma, are you?" says Falcon. "Any objections?"

Olimar taps Roy on the shoulder and whispers, "What about you? He was paid to, you know..."

After a measured silence, Roy smiles and replies, "I'll be fine. You don't always find someone so eager to atone."

Olimar nods solemnly.

"Thank you," Forrest says, bowing deeply.

"We should be the ones saying that!" Link remarks. "So, thanks."

"I'm honoured. If you guys are serious about the robot, I ought to inform the village head. She'll know best how to handle the rest of the villagers."

"Will she buy our story?" Wolf questions.

"Perhaps if you could come up with a plan, she'll be convinced."

"Are we doing that now?" says Olimar.

"You don't want to eat first?" Falcon asks through a scone.

"I-I think my nerves are suppressing my appetite..."

Falcon pats the smaller captain on the back. "That's no good. Why don't you sit back and relax while we do the thinking?"

"That's not going to make me feel any better."

"Then make up your mind!"

The doctor laughs. "I'm sorry. Call me if you need anything. I've left my work to my assistants and I'm sure they want me back. I wish you luck." With that, he beckons Infernape and leaves the room.

There's a thick silence, broken only by Falcon's consumption of the scones. Link eventually joins in, masking his enthusiasm.

" _Perhaps we should start with a review,_ " Mewtwo suggests, "o _f our last engagement with our opponent._ "

*.*.*.*.*

Tayll Village hails their heroes, the streets becoming even more packed than on the day the crew arrived. Local reporters soon begin to approach them, whom they—with Snake's encouragement—manage to largely shake through the dancing, drumming crowds, save for a particularly tenacious grey feline with a pen and paper.

"Hey there, I'm Carmen Roemon[2]. I'd like to know more about the saviours of Tayll Village!"

Lucario shoots Snake a look that says  _We've been caught_ , and requests, " _We'd like to lay low for a while._ "

"If you can get us away from the crowd, we might answer some of your questions," says Snake.

"Oh, sure! My house is right this way."

The feline leads the group to a cabin with a small garden out the front (that's the greenest tree Snake's seen in three days), locking the door behind them. She ushers them to a sitting room with a three-seater and a single chair. She takes the single chair while Jigglypuff and Lucario allow the humans to take the three-seater.

"I'll try to be brief, then. Who are you and how did you do it?"

"Well," Popo begins, "This is my sister, Nana. We're ice climbers by day, and… robot-kickers by day also, it seems."

"You wear those parkas when you go climbing? Aren't you hot?"

"Yes, this is what we wear. No, we're quite comfortable, thank you."

"And the rest of you?" Carmen focuses on Lucario and Jigglypuff. "You two look like Pokémon. Do you have trainers?"

" _Neither of us do_ ," Jigglypuff says.

" _I keep to my own,_ " says Lucario.

"And where do you come from?" Carmen turns to Snake.

"I have military training."

"Which military?"

"…Earth." Snake bites his lip but the feline seems content with his answer, scribbling down messy shorthand notes without pause.

"Tell me a little more about your attack. How long did you plan it for? Did you anticipate the siege? What intel did you rely on and how did you receive it?"

"We worked mostly on our own," Snake says. "It was a simple siege, with few enemy targets to deal with. We just worked as a team to exploit its weaknesses and delegate to our strengths."

"We went for the joints," Nana says. Then she gasps. "We forgot about Roy!"

"Maybe you did," Popo mutters. Nana jabs him in the stomach and he doubles over.

"What was that?" Carmen asks, leaning in attentively.

Snake holds up a hand before the others can speak. "Could we keep this off record from now?"

Carmen closes her notebook. "Of course. Is there some security risk?"

"Nothing that complicated—we don't want to cause any further panic."

"I understand. You mentioned a sixth person."

" _He was with us on the day we arrived here_ ," Jigglypuff explains. " _That was two days ago, the day the robot arrived as well._ "

"How curious."

" _He worked out one of the robot's weaknesses,_ " says Lucario, " _but he was captured and taken away that night. We withdrew to figure out how best to deal with our situation_."

"And you dealt with it marvellously," Carmen says, smiling brightly. "We all owe you one."

" _We've been warmly received already_ ," Jigglypuff says. " _We came here lost and were provided with safe lodging that enabled us to pay you back. I believe some balance has been reached_."

For a moment, Carmen appears splendidly lost in their story. Eventually she returns to them and says, "Your abilities are well worthy of the Smash Brothers' Tournament."

"Really?" Nana exclaims, eyes sparkling.

"Your actions here were pretty heroic, I must say. The Tournament gathers a small group of noble fighters every year. The fifth tourney is actually just a few days from now, and they are small enough that they can still take new applicants and fit you in the roster easy."

"Our priority right now is locating _our_ sixth member," Snake interrupts. "He was transported away in a cart. Would you have any idea where he might have been taken?"

"I've convened with some of the other villagers here to keep up with the situation," Carmen says, tapping her pen on her notebook. "They reported seeing a small vehicle moving in an easterly direction on the first night, down the Lakeside Trail. There aren't any occupied military buildings out that way, or anywhere in fact, but the Orfan Forest lies further in that direction—it would provide good cover for any shady dealings."

"We ought to head in that direction, anyway."

"I'm glad I could help! And wasn't just another reporter trying to force headlines out of you." Carmen grins again. "So, what do you plan on doing now?"

"We'll see if we can use the robot as a mode of transport," Snake says. "It can be controlled manually, so there shouldn't be too many complications."

"When do you plan on heading out?"

Nana gazes at Snake expectantly, nearly jumping out of here seat in anticipation. Popo is stoic but mentally crossing his fingers.

"Not today."

Nana sags.

"You kids are in no condition to travel," he says sternly. "You got knocked out today and I don't know if there are any repercussions. We need time to prepare, anyway."

"I could assist you with that," Carmen offers.

"Thanks." Snake convenes silently with Lucario for a moment before receiving an encouraging nod. "We might need the rest of the day to learn how to pilot the robot."

*.*.*.*.*

Popo can barely see above Indeom's console as the taller Snake grips the two handles on either side of the pilot's quarters.

"Don't mess up Mr Snake, Popo!" Nana hollers from the ground.

"Don't get in our way, Nana!" Popo retorts.

Snake slides his thumb over a button on top of the right handle and Indeom lurches forward, half swivelling around. Popo catches himself before his forehead collides with the console's edge.

"This is gonna take a while," Snake sighs. "Hang on tight, kid."

"Will do, sir."

Snake pushes the button again and notices a small jet flare up beneath Indeom's foot. He presses the buttons on top of both handles and Indeom jumps about a foot into the air. It lands roughly, but still upright. Snake doesn't touch those buttons again.

Eventually, Snake manages to get Indeom to take a slow step forward by easing forward on the handles.

"Alright, Popo. Push that button."

"This one?"

"Yes."

Popo pushes an orange rectangular button on the console and Indeom's left arm transforms.

"Spin that green ball in the console. I think that's for aiming."

Popo obeys and the left arm raises itself into the air.

"Good. Aim it at the ground in the distance."

He points the arm at a gentle angle, away from village.

Snake reaches over and pushes the orange button again. A missile flies out, smashing into the ground. A small counter below the orange button reads '9'. Snake fires again, and the counter doesn't change.

"Unlimited ammo. Huh."

"Do you think we'll run into trouble along the way, Snake?" Popo wonders.

"I wouldn't know." Snake pauses, staring into the distance over the sunburnt land. "You're not obligated to come, you know. You can stay here and wait for me to come back, then I'll take you to your portal."

"I don't believe that can happen, sir. I think we'll be needing each other if we want to go home." Popo lapses into solemn thought. "Even if we screwed up a little on that first night, you were still there to help us, that night and the next. Nana and I aren't the best at confrontations, and for a while I thought it was impossible to do anything about this siege, but you changed that. You and the others, we made it possible. But I'm… still uneasy about everything. I still don't know how we got here, or where we even are. I'd never heard of this place before we arrived. Sometimes I think I'm still in a dream…"

He trails off. The clouds of dust kicked up by the missile seem to merge together and glow strangely in the reddening light, as Snake struggles to untie his tongue.

"You've got guts, kid," he finally says. "I doubt I would have been able to do this on my own, either. Perhaps it's a good idea to stick together—I'm sure I'll need backup."

"Really?" Popo's face brightens, eyes almost sparkling in the approaching sunset.

Snake's expression suddenly hardens. "We've got to figure this out, first."

Nana hails them from the ground. "Lucario and Jigglypuff are back!"

" _Greetings_ ," says Lucario.

"You're back early," says Snake. "Did something go wrong?"

" _We've picked up some troubling chatter about the village this evening. There are rumours of hostile activity at other places around this world. Messengers that tried to reach Tayll were intercepted and lines of communication have been interrupted, so any confirmation of these rumours will be delayed. I fear for our unimpeded departure from this village_."

"Did you ask them about us taking the robot?"

" _They have not revoked their agreement, but I don't consider it outside the realm of possibility. They may see themselves as needing some form of self-defence_."

Snake rubs his face.  _This place is confounding_ , he thinks. The conjunction of worlds was borderless, fluid, defenceless—if not having a military was their idea of diplomacy, then he was beginning to have some doubts.

"Are we packed up?" he asks.

" _Yes_ ," Jigglypuff replies. " _Carmen was a tremendous help, purchasing some supplies for us. This may sound funny, but I still feel like we owe a debt to this place. Either way, we are prepared to leave._ "

"Good. I'd like to leave by tomorrow morning, if we can get our transport in order."

" _The robot?_ "

"Yeah. We've almost got the hang of it. You should try to rest as best we can before we leave. Something might come up en route."

" _I was so caught up in our success that I never considered the possibility._ "

"Doesn't hurt to be cautious."

*.*.*.*.*

For the second night in a row, Roy finds that sleep evades him. He stares up at the ceiling of the doctor's house, following the cracks in the wooden boards in the hope that his consciousness might fall through. The carpeted floor of the house is comfortable enough, but his head swims with thoughts as if searching for something he's forgotten.

A small, round thing in his peripheral vision patters past. He sits up carefully, to keep from disturbing the others' rest, and sees Pichu leave the room. He follows the tiny mouse Pokémon until Pichu leaps up onto a moonlit window sill, staring into the depths of the forest.

"You can't sleep, either?" Roy whispers.

Pichu's ears prick up and he muffles a startled squeak. " _No_."

"Mind if I join you?"

" _Of course not_."

Roy sits with his back to the adjacent wall. They say nothing for a while, and neither does sleep grace their presence.

" _I'm kinda worried for tomorrow,_ " Pichu eventually admits, ears drooping back down. " _I don't know how much help I will be. So far, I've only been a burden..._ "

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Roy replies. "There's bound to be something you can do that the rest of us cannot."

" _I want to believe that, but it's hard. Aren't you worried? You're going first, after all."_

"A little, but... you just need to keep trying, I guess. Even if you feel like you haven't done enough, you might end up inspiring other people instead."

" _Oh_." Pichu mulls on the idea for a little while, but it's hard to see himself in any useful, let alone inspiring, role. Instead, he chokes the growing feelings of self-doubt and asks, " _What was it like being transformed?_   _You looked scared when we found you…_ "

Roy has trouble finding the words. "I suppose it was like being asleep. Like in a dream you become completely accepting of everything, of a sequence of strange events that meld together amidst the absence of time. But there was an additional feeling, like your body and soul were being separated and if only you could, you could observe yourself from outside your body, and you know there's something wrong, but your mind won't complete the thought, and you're incapable of feeling uneasy—"

He realises he's rambling and stops, perturbed by his unusual lapse of self-control. "I'm sorry—I haven't frightened you, have I?"

Pichu drops his head a little. " _Yes…and no. I feel weird. Like, there's this instinctual fear in my gut of guts, yet at the same time it's as if I've heard it all before. It's a similar feeling to the one I had a few nights ago when I had this strange dream…_ "

The moonlight seems to flicker and refract. The room loses its earthly solidness for a brief second.

Roy loses his balance and braces himself against the wall.

" _Are you okay?_ " Pichu asks from above.

Roy's gaze flickers upwards to see the tiny mouse on all fours, fur prickled and tense, but not on the lookout for anything in particular.

"Yeah. You look startled."

" _It was just a dizzy spell._ "

"That's what overcame me as well. Perhaps it's something about this place." He bristles at the thought.

Pichu shakes the tension from his body before leaping into Roy's lap.

" _Do you mind?_ "

"Not at all."

Pichu turns around on the spot a few times before settling down. Roy leans back and begins to feel sleep lap at his consciousness. He strokes Pichu's fur, the short, stiff hairs affecting a strange, relaxing energy.

Finally, he drifts off, their breaths falling into synchronisation.

He and Pichu awaken the next morning with the words of a lost god on their tongues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] To be clear, this story takes place after all the characters' adventures (games). Or somewhere between adventures if they've had more than one ;)
> 
> [2] Another OC from my novelisation! She's a journalist and friend of the Princess Zelda.
> 
> Held onto this chapter for too long so any remaining shortcomings are unfortunate but my own *shrug emoji*. 
> 
> Have a nice day!


	8. The Strike of Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mewtwo's group finally confront Thalleom, but do they have what it takes?

**Chapter Seven: The Strike of Twelve**

* * *

"I call upon powers beyond my domain, to save mine and defend your own." Those are the words that rouse the pair from sleep, and those they present to the others the next morning at the behest of Mewtwo.

"So, we  _are_  doing someone's dirty work."

"I at least hope they're a nice person…"

"Collective dreams aren't completely new to me, but with this many people?"

" _We must not let this new directive deter us from our current goal_ ," Mewtwo says.

"What if this is exactly what this mystery person wants us to do?" Falcon speculates.

"We don't have enough information to assume their allegiance," says Roy. "Either way, contending with the robot is the only way we can leave."

" _And it would be the right thing to do_ ," says Pichu.

"You two are absolutely right," says Falcon. "When's the village head dropping by?"

" _Quarter-to-seven,_ sharp _,_ " says Mewtwo. " _Forrest warned she is never late for an appointment_."

"And she wasn't able to secure some weapons for us."

" _No. They may be too hazardous to use, given our civilian environment._ "

"We'd better impress, then. Let's get to work."

*.*.*.*.*

When Snake and company depart from Tayll village at mid-morning, the sky is cloudless and the air is warm and dry. They rumble along south for a short while, perched atop their foe turned mount, before curving east, following a wide, well-worn path beside a towering wall of grey rock. The path eventually curves away from a rocky outcropping and persists through open grassland.

In that time, before the sun reaches halfway across the sky, a blanket of clouds dumps three separate bouts of rain atop their heads.

The unpredictable weather has slowed their progress to a crawl compared to their initial speed, and now they see some strange shapes approaching from the sides of the muddy path.

Lucario peers ahead with her aura, and deduces a cloud of crimson figures heading their way.

" _They're hostile_ ," she warns.

"How'd you figure?" Snake asks.

" _Aura. I'm certain they're not friendly_."

"Anything else?"

" _They're on foot—beyond that, I cannot tell. Be prepared to fight_."

Popo and Nana disembark from the robot, landing to the side of a large puddle. They raise their mallets.

" _Haaaaaaaaaaa!_ " they scream in unison as they dash at the approaching figures.

The smaller figures in the enemy party scatter, leaving two bulbous, lumbering white monsters in their course towards Indeom.

"Popo, belay!"

"Yes!"

Nana falls back as Popo darts ahead, throwing their rope at the comparatively small head of the first monster. He pulls himself up, and Nana behind him goes soaring over his head.

The monster reaches a hand out, but Nana blasts it with ice, then swings her mallet down as the hand stops moving. The monster unleashes a rumble and reaches with its other stubby hand. Nana smashes that hand and anchors her legs around the monster's neck. Popo sends ice at the monster from the ground to divide its attention.

The smaller, red-eyed monsters bound like stringless marionettes towards Indeom. Lucario and Jigglypuff spring off Indeom's shoulder as Snake fires a round of missiles at the approaching crowd. The mud clears and most of the puppets have melted into purple smog. The few stragglers are handled easily by Jigglypuff and Lucario.

Jigglypuff turns around to see Nana punched off her mount's head by the other monster. She squeaks in horror before curling into a ball and throwing herself at the monsters.

There's a yell as she makes impact.

She skips to a stop to find one monster as well as Popo on their backs in the mud. She squeaks an unsteady apology to Popo as Lucario finishes off the monster, and then the two Pokémon set their sights on the remaining one.

It's getting to its knees, and Nana lies within its arms reach.

Popo shrieks her name and slips in the mud as his stomach flips and his legs fail him. " _Get up!_ "

The monster throws its arms up and begins to tip over.

There's an explosion just before Lucario can reach the monster. She coughs as mud and dirt engulf her. She switches to aura vision in desperation, and finds only a small blue aura ahead of her. Her relief escapes in a ragged sigh.

" _That was a risky move_ ," Lucario says to Snake, who has Indeom's smoking missile arm pointed in their direction.

"It's a risk we can take," he replies curtly, withdrawing the arm. "Anyone hurt?"

"Nana!" Popo cries. He runs over to her as she sits up.

"You're all gross!" Nana exclaims, holding her palms out to stop his advance.

"So are you! Don't you know you nearly got crushed?"

"Yeah, and it didn't happen."

Popo growls and turns away in a fit of rage, inadvertently kicking some mud into Nana's face.

She grabs a handful of dirt and lobs it at the back of his head.

"Hey!"

Jigglypuff intercepts the approaching mud fight. "Are you two betting on it raining again?" she reminds them, pointing to their muddied clothes.

"Great job, Nana," Popo grumbles, shaking his arms to little avail.

"Hypocrite," she returns.

"Let's go!" Snake calls. "We need to move on, quickly."

" _What was that?_ " Lucario asks Snake when they're all back in their places on the robot, Snake in the pilot's quarters, the parka siblings on one shoulder and the Pokémon on the other.

"Don't know. Probably the same lot that belongs to this robot. That last incident wasn't too worrying on its own, but we should leave the area before more wear us down."

Lucario hums a worried agreement.

*.*.*.*.*

The village head is a short, severe human woman in a regal emerald robe. Forrest quite clearly hears her knock on the door after sundown, but barely catches her greeting as he welcomes her into the house.

"Shall we set out?" She gets straight to the point.

"I'll grab them, make yourself at home."

He reaches his backyard to find the seven-strong crew seated cross-legged in a circle in the grass with Mewtwo in the middle, except for Pichu, who is nestled in Roy's lap.

He bites his tongue for a moment as he observes them. Their eyes are closed and their breaths are quiet and even, almost synchronised—save for Captain Falcon, whose head is drooped forward so that only the top of his helmet is visible.

"Falcon!" Mewtwo's voice booms through their minds, now including Forrest's, who reels.

The captain straightens and blinks open his eyes with a start. He looks around to find the others are still concentrating, thought perhaps a little broken by Mewtwo's outburst.

He grins sheepishly at Forrest.

Mewtwo counts down slowly from ten before letting them open their eyes.

" _So, she is here_ ," he says, without turning his head.

"Y-yeah, she's waiting in the front room."

The group, who were mostly calm and a little sluggish from Mewtwo's session, soon regain a nervous energy as the village head greets them with her piercing gaze and a quiet greeting.

"I've heard your plan, and I am satisfied enough. You shall have my watch."

Falcon accepts her cooperation on their behalf.

"Good luck, everyone," Forrest says, and sinks into a bow before turning to depart.

The village head grabs him by the sleeve. She says nothing for a while as he tries and fails to hide his growing horror.

"How do you expect me to help?"

"I'll need a local in case something happens."

She leaves the house, the rest following on her heels. Forrest lags behind, daring not entertain the thought of defying her will, mildly comforted by Infernape's presence. She keeps a strong pace despite her height, forcing Olimar to a jog and Pichu into Roy's arms as was now his prerogative[1].

They had set out far from the village entrance, so the village head has time to step back and interrogate her party as they move in the coming darkness. She falls into step next to Wolf, who hadn't dropped the scowl from his face for most of the day so far.

"You may call me Enn[2]. You are from Lylat, am I correct?" she asks. "I heard your predicament from the doctor. If, in some twist of fate, you ever decide to stay, Tayll Village is home to most of your brethren."

"I don't plan to stick around," he grumbles. "Once this is over I am  _gone_."

"That's understandable."

She says nothing further. Wolf finally looks at her and finds her lack of expression inscrutable, and suddenly feels a rush of anger.  _At least be offended, woman_.

She works her way through to the rest of the party one by one, offering some impersonal words of encouragement and invitations to stay in their new world a little longer. Eventually, she finds Forrest again, regarding him with an inquisitive eye.

"You said they were no one special," she whispers, "yet some of them allude to duties back in their homeworlds. Are you sure you were not privy to this?"

Forrest feels his throat constrict. "They didn't tell me."

"Regardless, we are dealing with some interesting personalities."

"Y-you could put it that way. The closer we get to this robot the less I'm inclined to trust them."

"Perhaps they are just out of your league."

Forrest inhales sharply and shuts his eyes, stung by her blunt jab.  _You're right_.

They reach the final bend in the road to see Thalleom rounding up three villagers who had wandered too close and had now incurred the robot's wrath.

"Let's hope its memory isn't too good," Wolf says as he and Mewtwo step forward, joining Enn at the front of their party with Roy. Pichu jumps down and joins Falcon, Olimar and Link as they fall back, concealing themselves behind a nearby house.

"Are you ready?" Enn asks them.

There's no protest.

"Alright, then."

*.*.*.*.*

" _Snake, your left!_ "

"Whoa! Thanks for the heads up. Popo, fall back."

"Come on, Nana!"

"Alright. Jigglypuff, look out!"

" _Puff!_ "

"Lucario, don't lower your guard. Lucario, are you listening?!"

"Lucario!"

" _Get off her, you fiends!_ "

" _Lucario!_ "

*.*.*.*.*

Roy breaks into a run. Thalleom sees his approach.

He readies his sword. Thalleom pulls back an arm and swings low. Wolf whips out his blaster and shoots at the arm, missing two shots and connecting with three. Roy's blade flies out in front and collides with the arm, leaving no mark but softening the blow. Roy stumbles back but remains on his feet.

Mewtwo flies at Thalleoms head, arms engulfed in crackling darkness. Thalleom swings but Mewtwo ducks and smashes his fists into Thalleom's chest. Wolf sends another volley of paralysing shots, and Roy leaps with his flaming sword at one of Thalleom's elbows. The blade smashes into the joint, sending a shower of sparks into his face. He loses his footing and hits the ground. He throws himself out of the way as Thalleom throws a fist down into the dirt where he'd been a second ago.

Mewtwo ducks and weaves between Thalleom's other attacks. He shoots up into the air to avoid a downward headbutt and jostles its upper body with rapid blows. While it's occupied, Wolf approaches and jams the bayonet of his blaster into its other elbow.

Roy scrambles to his feet and quickly looks over the damage they've done.

"There's no effect!" he yells. Both of Thalleom's joints are sputtering furiously, and its movement is slightly impeded by Mewtwo's attacks, but neither of the appendages seem to be incapacitated to any degree.

"Shit!" Wolf snarls. He ducks beneath another swipe and stabs the wrist of the arm, ducking beneath Thalleom's legs as the sparks fly out. Thalleom steps back and Wolf darts back through, only to be intercepted by a kick to the abdomen that sends him through the air at Roy.

Roy twists out of the way and runs to pull Wolf to his feet. The clawed hands grab onto his arms and immediately fling him away as soon as he's back up. They make their second approach as Thalleom continues to swipe at Mewtwo.

As Wolf leaps onto an arm, Mewtwo is swatted out of the air and into a nearby tree. Wolf smashes his bayonet into the elbow twice, three, four times, gritting his teeth through the sparks. The arm beneath him shudders and he grins, but he doesn't see the other arm reach around. Roy sends a burst of flame at the incoming arm, then jumps up and follows with a slash at the wrist that halts its approach. Through the dazzling light, Wolf manages to work out what happened.

"Thanks, kid," he says, before springing onto Thalleom's head.

Mewtwo appears behind the head and sends a jolt of dark energy through it. The energy laps at Wolf's hands but graciously, Mewtwo holds back enough to avoid hurting him. Wolf stabs his bayonet into a weak-looking globe in Thalleom's jaw, which smashes on impact. There's a burst of fire behind him, and another one to the side as a shadow rises up, halted momentarily before reaching to the head and plucking Wolf off its face. A third burst of fire loosens Thalleom's grip and Wolf slashes at the gargantuan thumb. It remains attached by a single tangle of wires. Mewtwo sends a Shadow Ball at the hand and it finally relents. Wolf instinctively hooks his arms around the wrist to stop his fall twenty foot fall, but his blaster slips from his grip.

He hangs on tight as Thalleom brings the arm back to fling him away.

Mewtwo throws himself at Thalleom's shoulder, paralysing it with dark energy. Its other hand comes around, smashing Mewtwo into its metallic shell. Mewtwo drops out of the air and barely manages to crawl out of the way of Thalleom's stomping feet. Roy slashes at the wrist, to be rewarded by a backhand that sends him tumbling in the dirt.

Thalleom shudders as a fiery punch from Captain Falcon signals his appearance.

"Let's go!" he commands. Mewtwo and Roy rise weakly and head past the captain, away from the robot. Falcon then looks to Wolf, who is still hanging from Thalleom's hand.

Wolf spots the captain and swings his legs up into the hand in a kick, then lets go, landing violently on his back. As he recovers from the jump and snatches his blaster, Falcon intercepts Thalleom's grab at Wolf and then hastily offers a hand as the two of them fall back.

"So, Plan B," Wolf grumbles.

"Yeah," Falcon replies. "Not the worst news you could be receiving."

*.*.*.*.*

" _I'm sorry I worried you like that. I'll be more careful next time._ "

" _You already said this, and I already forgave you. I'm considering taking it back._ "

" _You are cruel when you want to be, Lucario._ "

" _This makes it two battles now where we've been unable to cover each other. Are we really wearing out so soon?_ "

" _But we're almost there, aren't we? We'll be safe soon. I am concerned, though—this is the first time you've let your worry show through._ "

" _Forgive me, Jigglypuff._ "

" _There's nothing to forgive._ "

"Lucario! Two groups approaching from our right!"

" _Oh no._ "

*.*.*.*.*

They manage to retreat safely, with Thalleom divided between its duties of sentinel and finishing them off—and chooses the former. The robot continues to drive off the villagers that had become emboldened by the attack, though to a noticeably lower degree of efficiency, shuddering a little more with each mammoth footstep. The group huddles around a lantern in the oncoming night, across the street from their previous vantage point. The temperature has dropped dramatically, unseasonally so, as Forrest observes. The clouds had since cleared after the morning's brief but dramatic shower, but he senses a storm brewing. Perhaps all of them can.

"The villagers will be shielded by this world's laws[3]," Enn says. Link opens his mouth but Enn beats him to it. "It appears cruel, but the confusion will be short-lived, and perhaps to our advantage."

Link sighs, looking on at the robot with a harrowed frown. Pichu nestles himself in Link's lap to offer some comfort.

Roy, Mewtwo and Wolf are disheveled. Wolf is raking the dirt out of his fur.

"Forrest," Enn says, suddenly enough to startle Forrest out of his musings. "Will you take up a post outside the forest?"

Face creased with worry, he asks, "What for?"

"Stop people from getting in, for safety. I think you can slip out at this point."

He nods a little too fervently, shaken by Thalleom's display of power. "Of course. Come on, Infernape."

He cranes his neck to look for Thalleom before leaving with his Pokémon at his side. With Thalleom at the other end of the village, they watch as Forrest and Infernape disappear into the trees.

With some effort, Enn convinces the rest of them to ignore the chaos and regain their strength. They all remain seated until Link begins pacing back and forth, channelling his nervous energy into swinging his grappling hook in a tight circle. Roy, who's wrapped himself in his cape and is examining a particularly large rip in the fabric, mutters under his breath.

"Wanna share any of that with us?" Wolf teases.

Roy looks up with a start but says nothing.

"Alright, then."

"I was just thinking," Roy finally says.

"Here we go."

"'Powers beyond my domain', the voice said. It's encouraging. Someone has faith in us."

"If it's not reverse psychology,," Olimar says.

"I think if it was reverse psychology, the game would already be up," Falcon says. "But we're still here. Isn't that nice?"

"I'm praying for smaller and smaller things..." Olimar trails off.

Link settles back down. They sit in silence and darkness, blocking out the havoc outside their small circle.

After an oddly immeasurable amount of time, Enn stands up, with Link quick to follow.

No one protests as they head back towards Thalleom.

Overhead, the clouds darken, distant thunder echoing.

*.*.*.*.*

Snake and company tumble out of their last skirmish with even less vigour than before, with travelling in a foreign world alone terribly draining. Popo had been transformed in that last one, and was nursing a furious headache that had come to characterise their returns from trophy form, as best he could with their ride's rattling across the uneven ground.

The path had tapered off into grassland long ago, and the sun vanished below the horizon. They had followed the edge of a dense pine forest until they came to another path, this one oriented north-south and perpendicular to their previous trajectory, with one end disappearing into the forest.

"Nearly there," Snake announces. Nana can only manage to pump her fist in the air weakly.

As they turn up the path, Snake sees two humanoid figures at the treeline, their features obscured by the darkness but one of them glowing orange. Snake wonders if he's beginning to see Aura.

"Lucario," he whispers, rousing the Pokémon from a drowsy stupor propped up against Jigglypuff. The jackal looks ahead and finds their auras are a welcome blue, breaking the streak of red that had hounded them all day.

Snake disembarks and goes ahead on foot. He's approached by a man and his flaming monkey.

"Thought the robot might startle you," Snake says. "Is this Orfan?"

"Y-yes!" the man says after taking a minute to find his voice. "Is that yours?" He points at Indeom.

"Yeah. We didn't have many options."

"Are you from Tayll?"

"How'd you figure that out?"

"I heard there was a situation."

Snake stares at him in suspicion before his mind clicks.

"Have you had any outbound traffic lately?"

"No."

"Good."

"W-why?"

"Means we've come to the right place."

"You—excuse me?"

"We've been looking for someone. We suspect he's here."

The man stares back at Snake for a while. "I can't just let you in. We've got a situation as well."

"Ah." Snake grits his teeth. "We took control of this robot," he gestures to Indeom, "so I think we're up to the task."

"I—" the man's voice fails him again and he can only glance worriedly over his shoulder. He nods quickly and points Snake down the path into the forest.

"We have some people on our situation," he finally manages. "They'll need your help."

*.*.*.*.*

The storm arrives suddenly, and the raindrops beat down hard enough to sting the skin. Lightning and thunder dance overhead, filling the sky with threat.

Falcon ducks beneath the leg as Mewtwo swoops up and slams his heavy tail into Thalleom's face. Roy and Wolf stab at the globe at the base of Thalleom's back. Sparks fly but little effective damage is done.

Thalleom swivels around and stomps at them. Mewtwo jabs the back of its head with dark energy. It shrugs off the blow, but provides just enough time for Roy and Wolf to back out of the way. They skid in the mud. Falcon comes in with a flaming punch as Mewtwo prepares another jab. Their attacks connect in unison, stunning Thalleom for a noticeable moment. Mewtwo is unhindered by the rain, but his ground-bound allies are considerably more troubled, enough for their hopes of victory to be considerably diminished.

Link and Olimar sling out their ropes, each on one of Thalleom's arms. As the ropes soar through the air, Link realises the miscalculation they've made.

"No grip on the ground!" he cries to Olimar. "Don't hold if it swings!"

Olimar at this point trusts Link more than his own hands.

The ropes latch on. Perhaps distracted by the force of the rain, Thalleom doesn't notice for a moment. When it does, it raises its arms and swings. Link feels his feet slide through the mud and lets go, tripping in the mud. Olimar remains latched on.

Roy and Wolf advance with a hard combined slash to Thalleom's back, the attack weakening its dismissal of Olimar. He and the tiny Pikmin go flying nonetheless.

Pichu squeals from the outskirts of the battle, running back and forth for a good angle to attack from.

 _No, no! I can't find a way!_ Electricity escapes his cheeks and stings his fur. It shouldn't sting! It shouldn't _be this way!_

Enn looks on, concerned, a statue in her soaked robe. She sighs, resigned to her own powerlessness. She hadn't thought witnessing a battle would be so complicated.

There's two bursts of fire. The second one is extinguished suddenly as Roy is battered away like a fly. His blade spins out of his hands, glinting in the lightning and moonlight.

Wolf mounts one of Thalleom's arms and stabs at the elbow that glows in the darkness, and finally sees the hand go slack. But it's not enough. He disembarks, and in the darkness lands on Falcon's head.

Lightning flashes, and thunder quakes through the consciousness.

There's thunder, lightning, and an explosion.

A scream. Several screams from several directions. " _Get out of the way!_ "

The trees quiver as something huge bursts through their curtain, the lightning illuminating its metallic form for a brief second. Something with arms pushes itself into Thalleom. Thalleom ignores its smaller, scattered adversaries and pushes back.

The groan of metal rings fills their ears as Thalleom begins to rise, pushing its new opponent into the ground.

Pichu forgets all else and charges forward, crackling. A great fork of lightning twists through the sky, bouncing through a robotic spine and setting the ground ablaze.

Another fiery flash from the heavens sends a nearby pine toppling, crashing into Thalleom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] *whispers* (Melee rejects). This latter bit is kinda inspired by some fanart I saw.
> 
> [2] Enn debuts in this story, she doesn't appear in my SSE story like Forrest, Carmen or Perry did.
> 
> [3] That they are protected from injury by transformation into trophy.
> 
> Forrest alludes to the events of this story in the chapter he appears in Space and Time. I'd retcon some of the things he says there (among other things) but I'm lazy.
> 
> Have a nice day!


	9. A Union of Sorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes are kept in this strange new world a little while longer, and not entirely by their own wills.

**Chapter Eight: A Union of Sorts**

* * *

_Screams of delight fill Pichu's ears. He swivels around but his eyes can't focus amid the adrenaline of the cheering, swaying crowds. Above even that, a great footstep crashes behind him, shattering the ground and the sounds of the crowd beneath it. The world goes dark, and Pichu's head stops spinning._

_A metal beast screeches in his face and rears up on its haunches. Pichu darts to the side, dodging the swipes of the clawed paws of the reptilian beast, his concentration unshaken even as its breath rattles through dripping fangs as long as Pichu's body. He releases three surges of electricity, striking the beast's shell without damaging his own, lands on agile paws and falls back as an orange figure barrels into view to grapple the beast._

_The world shifts as Pichu finds below his feet the wing of a sleek airship as it blisters through a cavern. The beast flies behind in pursuit, beating its great wings. Pichu looks to his right and sees the orange figure again, tall and confident. A friend, an ally by his side. They share a nod and charge ahead together, soaring through the air, eyes fixed upon their enemy as the crowd screams..._

*.*.*.*.*

Mewtwo sees Pichu's form twist and jerk in the air before laying still. In an urgent manoeuvre he swoops down and sweeps the tiny Pokémon into his arms, forgetting the statue's base as his elbow knocks against it. The light blinds him but he curls protectively around Pichu as the cold metal transforms to warm, damp fur in his arms.

In another wave of emotion he realises that it may have been safer to leave the indestructible trophy on the ground.

The fire blazing behind them is quickly put out by the hammering rain, and the world is draped in night once again. Metal groans, great mechanical arms quiver beneath the massive body of the metallic beast before it collapses on top of a smaller, otherwise identical monster.

The driver of the smaller topples out of his quarters and trains an unsteady firearm at the beast, anticipating its second wind.

Mewtwo trains his eyes on the tangle of metal and spots shapes he suspects weren't part of the metal before. He doesn't step forth until the man with the firearm lowers his weapon. No one else moves for a minute longer.

Finally, a cape sweeps by Mewtwo, but before it can reach its destination it's bowled over by a small girl.

"We found you!" Nana cheers, holding Roy in a vice hold, followed closely by a more reserved Popo.

"What are you doing here?!" Roy exclaims.

"We busted out and came looking for you!"

"Sorry about... this," Popo says, gesturing tragically at his sister.

"No no, I appreciate it," Roy laughs. "I was just heading over to Snake."

Mewtwo stares at the trio before feeling Pichu shift in his arms. The tiny Pokémon stays silent but Mewtwo feels Pichu's body constrict in pain. He brushes a finger underneath Pichu's chin before approaching the man known as 'Snake'.

Snake starts as Mewtwo materialises behind him.

"Hope that wasn't yours," he finally says, shrugging towards the collapsed Thalleom after giving the Pokémon's silhouette a skeptical once-over.

" _It was not. For that I am glad._ "

"Me... too." Snake rubs his forehead as Mewtwo's telepathic words echo inside his skull. "I think we've lost some passengers. You think it's safe?"

" _They've had ample time to fake their deaths and throw the act._ "

The rain lightens to a drizzle, and the moonlight begins to peek through some cracks in the clouds. Olimar, Link and the trio hurry over to join Snake and Mewtwo as they drag out four silver statues trapped beneath the defeated robots. Falcon and Wolf are in an impossible tangle solved only by transforming them back. Jigglypuff and Lucario, both fairly light in their original states, had been thrown apart by the collision and are brought back together.

The first thing Lucario does after regaining consciousness is feel around with her paws while her eyes remain shut tight in pain. Jigglypuff manages to shuffle over just as blindly and sinks into Lucario's lap, and Lucario wraps her arms around as much of the Balloon Pokémon as she can. Mewtwo says nothing and instead turns to their other pair of casualties.

Falcon's foot has found its way into Wolf's mouth.

The sensation of choking sends Wolf into a panic. Amid the residual pain of the transformation, he yowls and wriggles back along the muddy ground before his boot flies forward into Falcon's face like an uncompressed spring.

"OWW!"

Falcon's cry seems to flick a switch in Wolf's brain and he freezes, claws clenched in the dirt. The two of them look around them to see that their allies are safe.

"So, we did it," Wolf rumbles quietly, staring at the pile of victory a few metres away.

Falcon gets to his feet, walks over to the pile and gives it an experimental kick. The metal clangs loudly and Falcon briefly assumes a defensive stance before relaxing and giving the others a thumbs up over his shoulder.

The village head, weighed down by her heavy robe, walks over with a surprising amount of grace and stares at the newcomers.

"I assume I owe you thanks," she says, fixing her eyes on Snake.

"For not burning the entire village to the ground?" he replies.

"You're fortunate I'm not so hung up on regulations." Enn stares at,  _through_  the pile of now scrap metal, into the depths of the pitch black forest. "But I'd very much like to get on the same page as the rest of you."

*.*.*.*.*

Enn leads them to her cabin, where Falcon's group had met her on the day of their arrival. Mewtwo drops the recuperating Pichu off in a side room on a very comfortable-looking cushion as the village head sets them up in the guest room. Enn seems to have little issue with her soaked guests draping themselves over the carpets—it's easily the most lavish and spacious room any of them had been in in the last three days, so as they settle down they struggle not to let sleep take them. After sending for some heavy lifters to remove the bodies of the ruined robots, and briefly gleaning stories off the wave of messengers that had built up over the two day siege, Enn requests their story.

As it turns out, Snake and Falcon alone are able to provide a sufficient account of their coming together, complete with enthusiastic additions from Nana while her brother tries to ameliorate whatever damage they've incurred to their respectability.

"I'll send word of your unplanned arrivals," says Enn, "as well as your shared dream. There may be something more afoot."

"Is that necessary?" Snake asks.

"I'll have to word it delicately with Meacri and Eci[1]. It's not necessary for the public to know the details, but they will be wondering about the attack on the Stadium and those other black holes[2]. Luckily there were no additional military forces to escalate this conflict any further."

"I wouldn't have thought of it that way," Snake mutters to himself. Roy looks at him strangely.

Falcon stretches his arms above his head before relaxing deeper into his armchair. Enn locks eyes with him.

"You've entered my house and not bothered to remove your helmet," she states.

"I was under the impression that you didn't care much for tradition," Falcon replies, returning her steady gaze.

"You assume well enough."

"I'd prefer to keep it on, if you truly aren't offended."

She gives a slight incline of the head.

Falcon almost breathes a sigh of relief as  _he specifically_  falls from Enn's focus.

"You may all need to remain in this world for some time until this situation is sorted out," she says, to the disappointment but not surprise of some members of the group. "I will vouch for you if the circumstances turn." No one can really thank her properly, still somewhat put out by the events of the evening; Lucario manages a slow nod. "I shall be lending my extended quarters to you again. Feel free to spread yourselves out."

*.*.*.*.*

Pichu awakens to a chill that banishes any sleep inertia he had left.

He swivels around, smacking his tail into something. Sparks leak from his cheeks before he sees Mewtwo standing before him, unfazed by the unintentional attack, the morning sunlight streaming through a window behind him.

_I-I'm sorry, I thought it was—_

" _I know._ "

_At least let me finish!_

Mewtwo raises his eyebrows, almost physically startled back by Pichu's sudden attitude.

_How long was I out?_

" _Since last night. We've won, but we are trapped again by the humans' business._ "

 _Oh..._  Pichu sits back down on the cushion.  _What happened to me?_

" _You knocked yourself out,_ " says Mewtwo. He's buffeted by a great wave of negativity from the tiny Pokémon[3]. " _Twin lightning strikes..._ " Mewtwo continues. " _One natural, one by you. Both brilliant, equally matched in power. One struck the back of the robot, the other a tree..._ "

Pichu withdraws further into himself.

" _...Which granted us our victory._ "

Pichu says nothing but Mewtwo can nearly hear his private thoughts.

" _I believe you struck the tree. I will never be certain. Either way, you finally found a way to help._ "

The tiny Mouse Pokémon can't believe his ears. He was a help?  _I was a_ help _! I was a help I was a helpIwasa—_

" _Learning to control your emotions may be your next point,_ " Mewtwo interrupts. " _It's not conducive to your improvement._ "

_O-oh. I don't mean to be pushy, but would you be able to help with that?_

" _I have my doubts._ "

Pichu's ears droop.

" _And there you go again. It is more_ my _personal shortcoming than your own. That's the first thing you ought to get into your head. Or you could take a walk_ _—the weather's quite suitable._ "

_With you?_

" _I may be able to offer that. And a... level of conversation._ "

With a spritely shake of his body, Pichu leaps off the cushion, joining Mewtwo in a calm walk, finally.

*.*.*.*.*

Link enters the circular garden from the back door of one of the cabin. He follows the cobbled path round the garden, passing by several small herb patches filled with strangely coloured plants, none of which he recognises. They're still beautiful though, and they smell rather nice, filling the air with a refreshing tang. With a perturbed pull in his chest he eventually finds Wolf seated on a wooden bench to the side of the garden, obscured by a draping willow whose leaves almost shimmer in the morning sun.

He swallows his pride and walks up to the Lylatian.

Wolf looks up at him and Link sees his jaw shift, but neither of them say anything for a moment, staring at each other silently.

"Out with it," Wolf finally says, suppressing a sigh.

Link clears his throat to make sure his voice hasn't gotten tangled up in there and says, "I'm sorry."

He expects Wolf to laugh, but he realises that's probably his own miscalculation. Wolf's ears prick up in surprise and he locks up for a moment, before loosening his shoulders and leaning back against the bench.

"What for?" he hazards, caught off-guard by the hairless kid.

"I was rude to you. I judged you even thought you'd done nothing to earn my disrespect." He bows in embarrassment, finding it much easier to stare at the grass rather than Wolf's hawk-eyed face. It was true that he'd been put off by Wolf's attitude and he had a swagger about him that suggested savagery, but he'd  _helped_ , hadn't he?

"Look at me, kid."

Link hesitates, but looks back up to find Wolf  _grinning_.

"I guess you're one of those types that thinks they know people's intentions," Wolf says. "A little inconvenient to work with, but sometimes they're right on the dot."

Despite himself, Link succumbs to poetic irony and a scenario runs through his head in which Wolf suddenly rears up and knocks him out. Wolf seems to pick up on it and relaxes further, making it clear he has no intention of making either of their lives any more difficult than they currently are.

"I've learnt that the world works in mysterious ways, and those ways don't always line up with your own." Wolf stretches and continues, "Anyway, I don't really know what you're apologising for. You haven't done anything to inconvenience me, and if you did, I doubt I would have noticed."

Link feels sheepish.

"...Meet me five years ago and that's what I would have said. Your  _modus operandi_  is obviously different to mine, but if you're willing to coexist, I guess the answer's 'apology accepted'."

It takes a moment for Link to process what Wolf said. They both almost laugh, for slightly different reasons.

"Warn me if I'm pulling your leg a little too much, okay, kid?" Wolf says, patting Link on the shoulder with enough force to jostle him. "But don't expect me to show any respect to the adults around here—no free passes for them."

Link briefly wonders why, and gives up shortly after.

*.*.*.*.*

"I've been meaning to ask you a question."

Snake had been the first to rise that morning and had watched the rest of their party wander out into the morning sun one by one. Eventually, he and Roy had been the last ones remaining indoors, and Snake noticed that Roy had no apparent intention of moving from his spot on one of the couches, not even for breakfast, drifting in and out of sleep through the morning. It was advantageous to Snake, if not slightly concerning.

"Well, it's more accurate to say that I'll probably ask things that circumvent the answer I'm eventually expecting," Snake clarifies, speaking from a chair halfway across the room. "You're under no obligation to answer any of my questions, of course."

"Don't worry about it," Roy replies. "What did you want to ask?"

"What sort of world are you from?"

Snake immediately realises that it's a useless question, as Roy sinks back into the couch and stares at the ceiling for a moment, lost at where to begin.

"I'll start from where we left off, then," Snake persists, pressing his fingers to his forehead. "You... your clothes were the first thing that I noticed when we ran into each other. You look like you're from a different time period to where I'm from. Unless it's a costume, I'm willing to bet that you're from the past... Except that flaming sword of yours throws a wrench in everything—can't really explain that one, unless we're playing swords and sorcery, now."

"You don't have magic?" Roy says. "And you say you're from the future... your lives don't rely on magic at all. It's difficult to imagine, but not impossible—just harder."

"'Harder' depends on your point of view."

"As an avenue for the exploitation of power?" Roy is quick to the draw. Snake nods slowly.

"Do you have kings and queens and castles, things like that?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so it's not completely different to  _my_  world's past." Snake falls silent for a moment, and they peer at each other, wondering how much exactly they and their worlds have in common.

"What's your position?"

"I'm the son of Marquess Pherae of Lycia."

"A politician, huh... I do remember you said on that first day that you led an army, too. You any good at fighting?"

"There are people close to me who are better. Are you?"

"It's... what I'm good at." Snake trails off, staring at the back of his hands.

After waiting a polite moment for Snake to continue (he doesn't), Roy says, "What are you thinking about?"

"I don't really know, kid," Snake sighs. "I guess... Kids fighting wars... I know what that is. Feeling bad about it doesn't help, but..." He winces internally and pushes the hair out of his eyes. "Sorry to unload that on you. You look a little tired."

"I'm alright," Roy says, but he makes no effort to move. Snake feels a twinge of frustration and gets to his feet.

"I'll grab you something."

"Oh, don't worry about—"

"That wasn't an offer. Now, make yourself comfortable."

Just before Snake disappears through the doorway, Roy asks, "May I ask you about  _your_  world?"

"Don't see why not. You'll understand if I refrain from answering anything particularly personal, won't you?"

Snake feels that it's something they can both agree on, but neither of them will need to uphold.

*.*.*.*.*

A week passes before Enn speaks with them again. A week in which Mewtwo and Lucario lead several meditation sessions, in which Olimar, Link and the ice climbers discuss their predilections for collecting, in which Snake coordinates sparring sessions between the interested parties at the behest of Wolf and Falcon. A week in which they get to know each other a little better, without any sense of immediate threat.

It's an uneasy peace, almost broken on a blustery day where Wolf, in a fit of homesick cabin fever, hoists a man up by the collar in the market square, but otherwise it passes slowly, and with no indication of whats's going on behind the scenes. Enn doesn't correspond with them until she tells them that they are permitted to return to their worlds.

And yet they hesitate.

"Is this hesitance part of the conspiracy as well?" Enn questions.

"Why didn't you get back to us until now?" Snake returns. "For all the 'traditions' you've forsaken I'd hoped bureaucracy was one of them."

"Perhaps my counsel makes me conservative. The junction of worlds is a delicate space, one we're not yet used to navigating."

Snake holds back a scoff.

"Is there any ongoing threat to this world?" Roy interjects.

"Nothing we're aware of. Watches have been tightened at the other settlements. We've sent investigations out and none have returned with any evidence of evil intent by any known organisation."

"So, an unknown organisation, then," Snake concludes.

"Not quite. An unfamiliar arrangement of instruments was found at a ruined castle[4] but we don't know if it is connected to the black holes or the attacks on the villages."

"A vigilante, maybe?" Falcon suggests.

"We don't know. But nothing has happened this week so we can assume it is safe to travel again."

"And if it's not?" Olimar murmurs.

"A strong culture of non-aggression is practiced in this world," Enn says. "I imagine that if an outside force intends to harm, the interests of the other worlds in protecting this meeting place will come into play."

"You speak of war?" says Roy.

Enn sighs. "What I mean is that there is no precedent... Perhaps I should take care of what I say."

" _I don't know what further powers we have to offer,_ " says Lucario. " _But it feels somewhat irresponsible to leave now. This situation has not yet concluded, and the worst that could happen is people getting hurt._ "

"You speak true, but do some of you not have duties to attend to?"

Those of them that don't say nothing, and those that do conceal the fact.

"Then, I would advise that you return to your worlds. And if you decide to come back, you all know the way."

*.*.*.*.*

Nearly two weeks pass before Wolf even thinks of Lien again. The thought comes to him in a very direct manner—by way of a letter that finds its way onto his bedside table one evening.

It's rare enough to see a paper document these days (his days, at least), and a handwritten letter is among the rarest of the antiquated arts.

Enn's double standards of security are beginning to make his head spin. His teammates are bound to have at least snuck a peak at the—admittedly curt—contents of the letter.

_Wolf,_

_You have been summoned to Lien for a meeting by a Mr. ROB._ _Your eleven allies have also been requested to attend by nearly identical letters, so there is no need to feel singled out._

_ROB will provide you with more details upon your arrival._

_Enn._

Leon and Panther give him jealous looks, which Wolf returns with a scowl, before heading off in his Wolfen to the location of the portal that had spat him back into his own world those eleven days ago. Amid the confusion of that initial adventure, and those of his own 'career' back home, it feels like an eternity ago.

The stench and sickly green of planet Zoness fades into the rugged, red-brown stone of a mountain around him, and he steps out of the portal into the village called Eci. The wind that blows down from the heights of the mountain range is a quite literal breath of fresh air.

He hitches a ride on an animal-drawn wagon headed down the mountain and northward, and the emerald of the Orfan Forest appears before the end of the day. Enn is quick to greet him at the village entrance, and it turns out he's the last one there.

"I'm surprised all of us were able to make it!" Falcon observes, nodding Wolf's way as he approaches the group. He casts a curious glance towards the wagon as it passes them by.

"Yeah, and some of us are busy," Wolf says, "so pardon me if I want this to be quick." It's then that he notices a fourteenth member in their congregation: a robot with a rectangular head and hefty base, standing beside Enn.

"I would like you to meet ROB," she says, introducing her new robotic companion. "As you know, he is the one that summoned you all here. He'll fill you in on his request."

ROB spends a moment staring at the group before speaking.

"Thank you all for coming," he buzzes. "My name is ROB, former leader of the Robots of this world. You could say that I am... this world's ambassador[5], though few are acquainted with me."

Some looks are shared, but nothing is said.

"You are all well aware of the strange occurrences that occurred around this world at the beginning of this season. You have my deepest thanks for your efforts to help out. I myself have answers to some lingering questions, and a request that you accompany me to the Smash Brothers' Stadium to meet with another important figure around here. I have also invited Enn, but she wishes to remain behind to watch over her people—perfectly understandable, I might add.

"The trip should not be too long. Less than a day's trip by vehicle each way, and we shall provide some hospitality should you choose to stay longer."

Here, ROB stops, waiting for their answers to his call.

"Can I get a message to my 'mates?" Wolf asks gruffly. "I'll need to give 'em a heads up before we go traipsing about."

"I can arrange for that," says Enn.

"Good. Thanks."

"The  _Stadium_?" Nana blurts. "That's where that tournament was! Does this have to do with that?"

"Not directly," ROB says.

"But I think we'd like to come, either way," Popo says. His sister nods fervently in agreement.

"Thank you, children. Any others wishing to withdraw?"

Falcon pats Olimar on the top of his helmet in encouragement, but otherwise no one turns down his request. At this, something in the robot seems to crack.

"I thank you all so, so much," says ROB, bowing in a mysteriously vivid show of emotion. "It is such an honour to meet you. This means a lot to this world, and to me. I shall do my best to make you comfortable."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] Meacri, Eci and Aelta are some other villages that I made up *dabs*.
> 
> [2] Yes, this is referring to the events of the SSE/my novelisation on which this story is based.
> 
> [3] Maybe this empath-Mewtwo I've got running is artistic licence but ehhhh Lucario's already playing the roles of Snake's advisor and Jigglypuff's love interest so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ (the latter surprised me as well)
> 
> [4] Remember Dedede?
> 
> [5] Reference to Chapter 38 of Space and Time.
> 
> a/n: Lots of talk about alternative interpretations ahead!
> 
> This chap was a tough one. I've never properly concluded a novel-length story so this is effectively new territory (aight technically this isn't proper, either). I don't know how it ended up as this—personally I find it... interesting. Thanks for sticking around!
> 
> Not sure how much I like this interpretation of Toon Link. I keep thinking back to this other interpretation I saw somewhere (don't remember where) where he's a really sunny but not very talkative character, seemed like a much less judgemental type than the one I've got running here but I needed a foil to Wolf or something idk i don't read books ¯\\_(ツツ)_/¯
> 
> I think I could have added more drama and explosions to this story but maybe that's for another time.
> 
> Not sure if I've made it obvious, but we're approaching the finale! There will be one or two more chapters, then this is completed! Thanks again for hanging around!
> 
> Have a nice day and feel free to share your thoughts!


	10. The Smash Brothers' Stadium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams and reality converge. Bonds are forged—some likely, others less so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, there! It's been a while. Hope you've had as much fun as I have with this story!  
> I'm rolling with my old artistic licences. Whether they will persist into any prospective works remains to be seen. Please bear with me!

**Chapter Nine: The Smash Brothers' Stadium**

* * *

 

There are no attacks as they make their way westward. They sit aboard a small, open-topped vehicle partially refurbished by an Orfan villager using the remains of the two giant robots, watching the sunlit, open landscape as they trundle through it.

ROB speaks true. They arrive at nightfall after a late departure, and the driver leaves them at the edge of a dense sclerophyll forest before heading on their way to Port Meacri, to the north. ROB leads them through the forest, and after a short trek along some uneven, patchy ground, they reach a clearing. At the end of it stands a large, flat-topped building whose edges extend far beyond the tree line.

"The Stadium!" Nana exclaims.

"It's like the ones we read about in our books," Popo breathes.

ROB turns to them, almost conveying a smile in his dull eyes. "Your enthusiasm is infectious." Even so, he holds out a hand when the parka siblings rush forward, halting their approach. "I must let the master of the abode know we've arrived. Master Hand!"

A shockwave ripples through the group as a soft yet compelling, disembodied voice echoes through their minds. The voice of their dreams that had called them to this place.

" _Welcome back, ROB. Have you our guests?_ "

"All twelve of them, I'm pleased to say."

" _Splendid. I welcome you all here._ "

It takes a moment to realise that they'd been directly addressed, but Master Hand pauses for a moment before continuing.

" _I imagine you have many questions. I'll start with myself. My name is Master Hand, and I am the guardian of this realm. You have my deepest thanks for defending the civilians of this world. I thought I'd like to meet the heroes of the day myself—I apologise if this has caused any disruption in your own lives. I will try not to take too much of your time, but it is important that we clear up this mess._ "

"Agreed," Wolf mutters.

" _So, please bear with me. I'd like to invite you all in and meet another group of people much like yourselves—they also defended this world, but in a different time and place to you. I hope you all have a good time, here—it's the least I can do._ "

The gates to the Stadium swing wide open in Link's mind, but ROB still doesn't approach the entrance. He looks at, through the others, unfocused, before speaking.

"I... want to give you my thanks," ROB whirrs. "I am a long-time resident of this world, longer than most, and I really appreciate what you've done—what you've saved. I've suffered my own losses, but your efforts and the efforts of those in the Stadium right now, give me hope."

He bows his head and laughs, as breathily as a robot can. "Sorry for being so sentimental. I wouldn't like to weigh more people down with a sob story."

Falcon approaches the robot and pats him on the shoulder, heavily but managing not to jostle him.

"We all have our days," he says. "You don't need to explain yourself."

"Thank you."

Nana scowls at Link, who has a tear in his eye. Popo punches her.

"Pardon me," ROB says, addressing the group again. "If you could come this way."

So they reach their destination, finally.

*.*.*.*.*

ROB, alone, enters Master Hand's makeshift chambers—in actuality the infirmary with most of the mattresses rearranged at the end of the room for Master Hand's recovery—and takes a small bow.

" _You are prepared for this day, ROB?_ " the Hand asks. " _I don't mind a last-minute change of plans—_ "

"No, no, thank you for your consideration," says ROB, moving to tidy up some of the cupboards that one of the temporary residents had left in disarray. "Though, I suppose it may have been a good idea to warn them of your appearance beforehand, to keep things running smoothly."

ROB shrinks at his choice of words, but Master Hand glances over it.

" _Hindsight is a valuable thing,_ " says Master Hand. " _If you are fine, then I will call up the rest, so we can all finally meet._ "

*.*.*.*.*

The kids and Captain Falcon were beginning to get bored in the room ROB had left them in before they were finally summoned by the telepathic voice.

" _I have summoned the others. We are in the room marked by the red cross._ "

Just as Master Hand finishes speaking, ROB whirls around the corner and guides them a short way down the curved hall to where the sound of the chatter of a larger group of people reaches them first. A gargantuan man in dark clothing scowls their way but steps back to let them pass.

Only, the room is already full. ROB feels his circuits heat up.

" _Forgive my blindness!_ " Master Hand blurts. " _Perhaps we should meet in a more open location. I will see you all in the arena!_ "

There's a flash from further in the room and a couple of surprised yells. They hear some cries of "Where did he go?!", answered by a loud, "He's in the arena!", so the people in the room begin to filter out. Their variety is stunning, people and animals of all shapes and colours and sizes, much like their own group. Some curious looks are exchanged between the two groups before the first of them they are approached by is a blonde woman in a pink dress, followed closely by a short man in overalls.

"Are you the ones Master Hand was talking about?" she exclaims, eyes sparkling. She quickly picks Snake as her object of attention and holds out her hand, which he reluctantly accepts. "My name is Peach! It's such an honour to meet you all. Master Hand spoke very highly of you!"

"...Thanks," Snake replies, _almost_ finding the woman's friendliness contagious, and finding her grip surprisingly firm.

The man who'd accompanied her finds his way to Captain Falcon, and they also shake hands.

"My name is Mario," he says. "Welcome to the Stadium! I hope you've had a pleasant time here, so far."

"Thanks for having us," is all Falcon can say.

"I think we should find Master Hand. Just follow us!"

Peach and Mario lead the way as the rest of the people filter out of the infirmary and lay eyes on Master Hand's guests for the first time. The two groups merge somewhat and move slowly as some members find themselves drawn to each others' sides.

Link, accompanied by Nana and Popo, finds an older teenager wearing surprisingly similar clothing to him, accompanied by a girl who can only be described as royalty. On their heels is a winged person in white clothing somewhere between their ages and a green reptilian animal with a bulbous nose and friendly eyes.

"Hey there," says the teenager. "You've helped out around here, too? You're very brave. I'm Link."

"That's my name, too!" exclaims Link the younger.

"That's so weird," the older laughs. "Glad to meet you, Link." He turns to the girl next to him with a small bow. "And this is Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

"I know another Zelda, too." Link the younger pauses before dipping his head. "Forgive my rudeness, Princess!"

Zelda laughs, smiling warmly at the children. "There's no need for that. Come, let's see Master Hand."

They eventually emerge into the arena, a concreted open space lit by floodlights and surrounded by many tiers of seats. In the centre of the space is Master Hand, floating a foot off the ground in all his disembodied glory.

" _I apologise for the awkwardness,_ " he reiterates as the group of almost forty congregate around him and eventually cease chattering as the Hand continues. " _I thought a recount of what has brought us all together would be the best place to start, though I admit it's not the most interesting way to get to know each other._ "

" _So, if you please, lend me your ears and hearts to ROB._ "

*.*.*.*.*

Master Hand covers the Subspace Invasion, King Dedede's role in the chaos, the rest of the heroes of the tale, and the enslavement of ROB's people[1]. It's a lengthy tale, but it answers a lot of lingering questions—that was the least they'd expected. Wolf is about to take his leave when he sees two Lylatian pilots amid the crowd.

Fox quickly breaks the accidental eye contact they'd made, but Wolf strides over to him and the taller Falco, the latter of whom grimaces at his approach.

"Didn't expect to see you here, McCloud," says Wolf, grinning widely.

"It's nice to see you too, O'Donnell," says Fox. Falco snickers, to which Fox responds with a backhand. "Mind your manners."

"Lookin' beautiful, as usual," Falco snorts, completely disregarding Fox's request.

"You'd know."

Fox's eyes widen, but Wolf holds up a clawed hand.

"Come on, we've got that much in common, wouldn't you say?"

"Are you gonna be difficult the entire time?" says Fox. "Or are you gonna act like the  _hero_  Master Hand implied you were?"

"Cut me some slack, McCloud. We aren't enemies, anymore, are we?"[2]

"Kinda hard to keep track," Falco grumbles.

"Alright, sorry," Fox rescinds. Thanks for helping out in whatever way you did."

"Fox, you make it so easy for him," Falco chides as Fox steps back in surrender. "You got friends, here, O'Donnell?"

"No enemies of _yours_ , if that's what you're asking. I'm alone, apart from the freak show." He gestures vaguely at the others around them on the arena floor.

"Speak for yourself," says Fox.

"So, how'd you get involved with the 'freak show'?" Falco questions.

Wolf bounces on his heels for a moment before replying, graciously, "It came to me in a dream."

Falco screeches in delight. "That ain't you!"

"What can I say, I'm a changing man. If that ain't me, then what are you two, and the rest of your team? Are you mercs still _law-abiding_ fellows?"

"By  _Lyla_ ," Fox growls, shoving Falco aside to grab Wolf by the collar. Wolf smiles and his only attempt to resist is a slight shrug of the shoulders.

"Don't misunderstand, McCloud, you are just so fun to tease."

Fox says nothing, barely managing to conceal his fangs before remembering their place and releasing his former rival. The smile hasn't left Wolf's face, to Fox's immeasurable chagrin.

"You're gonna look like a creep with your mug stretched out like that," Falco says.

"And the knife didn't give it away."

Wolf sees Fox's had twitch towards his blaster and he throws his head back with a scratchy hoot.

"Take it easy, McCloud. We're practically on holiday now!"

"Then I wanna go back to work," Fox groans.

To his immense relief, a loud clap ends their conversation and all the chatter around them. Princess Peach waves a hand from the first tier of seats and raises her voice to the crowd.

"If our lovely guests would like to become acquainted with the facilities, then follow me!"

 *.*.*.*.*

At least one of those present fails to hear Peach's announcement.

" _I wasn't meant to be here at all?"_ Pichu squeaks. He paces in an anxious circle around Mewtwo, the latter of whom can't compel himself to leave the little Pokémon's company. " _You heard him, didn't you?"_

 _"In actual fact, no, I did not,"_ Mewtwo says. _"That was a private conversation between the two of you. I was not privy to it."_

" _Maybe you just didn't care._ "

 _"Whether or not I cared, Master Hand blocked my mental probe. Like_ _he closed a door right in front of me."_

_"He can do that? Does that mean he's more powerful than you?"_

_"It doesn't matter,"_ Mewtwo growls. _"What matters know is that you have a decision to make. Will you talk to your future form or not?"_

Pichu whimpers.

_"Are you scared?"_

_"Maybe."_

_"Why?"_

_"I don't know."_ A string of electricity escapes the Tiny Mouse Pokémon and stings him in the back, triggering a fresh bout of frustration. _"Maybe I'm scared of him being as much of a mistake as I am. For as powerful as you say you are, you sure are dense!"_

Mewtwo nearly recoils but says nothing, merely staring down the fire in his companion's eyes.

 _"Hey there!"_ a new voice cries. Mewtwo turns to the source and sees that the subject of his question is taking his younger form's destiny into his own hands.

 _"Oh no..."_ Pichu moans, watching in horror as his future self trots straight up to him. When they meet, however, Pichu's ears perk up as he observes his future form close up.

 _"Master Hand told me about you,"_ says Pikachu. _"He said he brought you here my mistake, which must sound horrific to you. Am I right?"_

Pichu shakes his head fervently. _"No, it's good to be here!"_ he lies.

 _"It's a little embarrassing talking to myself. I don't really know why."_   Pikachu nearly shocks himself as the words tumble out. _"But I don't mean that as an insult. Like you said, it's a good thing you're here."_

 _"Really?"_ Pichu asks, a little too desperately.

_"I imagine you've gained a little courage from being here, right?" Pikachu says. "It might not have gone the way you wanted, but there's so much ahead of you, in this world and at home. It's hard to see sometimes, but I know how optimistic you can get. You're right to believe in yourself, you know? That's what everyone does, and you can do the same if you want to see what these worlds have to offer. No one can deny you that._

_"And here I go rambling,"_ Pikachu laughs. _"See? It's not that bad. Do you think that was bad?"_

" _No way,"_ Pichu says. _"...You're evolved."_

_"Are you judging me by my looks?"_

_"N-no!"_

_"I still do that, sometimes. I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing, I'm just pointing it out. But you didn't run away from Mewtwo when you saw him?"_

Mewtwo bristles.

" _Sorry about that, Mewtwo."_

" _But I_ did _try running away,"_ Pichu laments.

" _And then you stayed,"_   Pikachu says. _"And you helped. That was something you did right, don't you think?"_

Pichu goes silent.

Pikachu's cheeks spark in embarrassment. _"I haven't lost you, have I?"_

_"No."_

_"Good. I hope you enjoy your time here. I think you will, actually."_ Pikachu's ear twitches playfully before he nods his head at Pichu and Mewtwo and returns to his post by Samus's side.

Pichu watches across the distance and time that separates himself and his future self's words.

Mewtwo says nothing, but feels the heavy air around the tiny Pokémon lift.

*.*.*.*.*

Roy had found himself among people with the first recognisable style of garb he'd seen on this latest trip to Lien. Neither of them had shared their credentials immediately with their new acquaintance but they'd established themselves as a reserved mercenary and an amiable noble-type. The trio ended up assigned to one room with two bunks after Peach's tour of the Stadium—arena, library and all, built into numerous complexes off the one circular stone structure.

Marth is infinitely more talkative than Ike, and smiles a lot, but even compared to others Roy knew, on their initial meeting he'd proven fairly unobtrusive.

"Who is that man you arrived with?" asks Marth.

"His name is Snake."

"Do you know him well?"

"He's a realist."

"Is that a point of difference?"

"I suppose so."

Marth smiles again, but it's a melancholy one as he lies back, an upright pillow between his back and the wall as they talk. Ike, who is lying on the top bunk which Marth had quickly relinquished to him, turns on his side and dangles a closed fist over the edge of the bunk, beside the prince.

"Could you put this somewhere?" he asks. "Just throw it anywhere."

Marth unfolds the length of fabric he'd obtained from Ike and instead tries the bandanna on for size.

"Suit yourself."

"How well are you two acquainted?" Roy asks Marth, the latter of whom looks sufficiently pleased with himself.

"In terms of time, not very," Marth replies, "but certain struggles forge sturdy bonds."

"We met up during the Subspace debacle," says Ike.

"We were also accompanied by a valiant knight. But I... hate to admit that at the time, he was—"

"He was a jerk."

Marth laughs in embarrassment but quickly pulls himself back together.

"We were all just under pressure," Marth continues. "But we made it in the end, covering each other's backs."

"Marth and I paired up for that buddy system he thought up for Tabuu," Ike juts in. "Way better than trust falls."

"You're welcome, Ike."

Roy smiles at their display, but feels a sudden pang of loneliness. He'd already made up his mind not to bring anyone from Lycia to this new world, but recounting as much as he could recall on the return left him wanting. The topic had come up with Snake during their stay in Orfan, and Snake too was reluctant to bring anyone to Lien.

"If I stumble into some supposed new dimension and everyone can speak the same language as me, then I don't want to be bringing people into a trap," is all Snake had said on the matter.

But Roy wanted to believe that it was something amazing, even if it was, at first, almost frighteningly unusual. Maybe it was that first night as a trophy that was throwing him off. He would just have to skim over that when trying to sell the idea.

He asks again, anyway.

"Marth," he starts, trying the unusual name on his tongue, "have you ever wanted to bring a friend here, from your home world?"

"I never thought about that," he replies. He studies Roy's inquiring face for a moment before averting his gaze. "It would be nice, if not a terrible hassle."

"That's what I was thinking, too. Ike?"

"We're not really people-people. Anyway, Marth's enough trouble as is." Marth's jaw drops. Ike laughs quietly, overhearing his gasp. "You nobles are so easy, sometimes."

The prince buries his face in his pillow to hide his rapidly reddening face.

"Marth?" Roy cautions, frowning slightly in Ike's direction.

"Oh, don't bother with him," Marth grumbles. "You must feel so awkward with my overreacting."

"Not at all," Roy assures him. Marth smiles futilely as if it's those were the most comforting words in the worlds.

"Maybe some fresh air will do," he announces. He marches towards the door but Roy jerks forward, nearly falling off the mattress as Marth's hand clasps the doorknob.

"Is it safe?" Roy exclaims, immediately remembering where they are and biting his tongue.

"We're not in a war-zone," Ike reminds him, redundantly.

"If _you_ mind your manners!" Marth retorts. "Anyway, it's kind of you to worry, Roy, but I'll be back soon."

"I think I wanted another look at the Stadium, anyway," says Roy. "If you don't mind my company."

"Of course not."

"Stay safe, you two," Ike says as Marth makes way for Roy, who has his blade in hand.

"You too, you buffoon," says Marth. He shuts off the light and closes the door behind them.

*.*.*.*.*

Snake was surprised to find another human on the roof of the Stadium. It was the woman he'd seen in the impressive suit of orange armour, now out of it, taking up a surprisingly small amount of room on the ledge considering that her height rivaled his back on the arena floor.

"Are we the only adults around here?" he asks.

She turns suddenly and peers at him through the darkness before relaxing.

"The princess Peach might have a word with you," says the woman, turning away again to stare at the night sky.

"The pink girl?" Snake replies. "She fits right in with the rest of this motley crew."

"The ones sleeping down at ground level?" the woman returns.

"I think I saw some of them lurking the halls. Probably looking for a midnight snack."

The woman snorts quietly. "Are they proving a little unpredictable?"

"You can never be too sure."

He approaches the edge of the ledge, where the woman is dangling her feet.

"Who are you?" Snake asks.

"You got bounty hunters where you're from?" she says, to which he replies in the negative after hesitating. "Then, a name you haven't heard before. Samus Aran."

"So, _Samus Aran_ is a big deal in her world?"

"Big deals deserve big deals. What are you?"

"A soldier. You can call me Snake."

"A pleasure to meet you, Snake, perhaps. What do you make of our coming together?"

"In what way?"

"As a soldier. I'm a bounty hunter. Our circumstances are a little unconventional, especially when you consider the backgrounds of the others below us. Let alone, species."

"That's a question I haven't been able to answer since I landed in this blasted place. Can't shake the feeling that this is all a trap, but it would be an excessively elaborate one at that."

Samus finally looks him in the eye, eyebrows raised at his answer.

"I shouldn't be surprised," she says. "That's what I thought too, initially, but now I feel like this place ought to be protected."

"Really? I didn't really see you in amongst it. You hung to the edge of the crowd down there."

Samus only offers a shrug and retracts her gaze.

Snake wonders what exactly she sees in this world but doesn't press further. He notices for a second time that evening that she is rather attractive and perhaps not as ragged as her profession suggested. The moonlight glows against her face, which is peppered with her fair share of scars but he's sure he looks twice his age whereas she's gotten off lucky. He wonders briefly if it's to do with her advanced placement in the timestream and what sort of... scientific manipulation is involved.

"You look like a lone type," says Samus, bringing Snake back to Earth—which is, ironically, harder to manage away from said planet. "It would fit your background."

"Is it that obvious? Well, I'm not completely alone. And I don't really get lonely, anyway."

"Good for you. And your lucky person."

"It's—" Snake trails off, confounded by this younger woman who, though masked, seemed to carry a burden as he did. He hadn't expected to find someone of the same feather in this confusing world and he's not so sure he should want to.

*.*.*.*.*

The Smash Brothers' Tournament: a fledgling tradition that brought the worlds' peoples together, all eyes on the minuscule fighters on the arena floor battling it out for the title of Champion.

It seemed this new congregation of personalities, tangled up in a great conflict to defend the realm, had inspired some change in the format. Mario, Peach and Zelda had quickly called a meeting the next day, just before any of their potential new candidates took off back to their home worlds. The princesses had procured a whiteboard, and were standing at the back of the room with Mario on a stack of crates.

"We also need a hook to bring in the crowds after our fifth tournament was... interrupted," Mario says, speaking to the congregation in the rec room, "so we've brainstormed some new events and would like your input, if you so choose."

"Our original format consisted of one-on-one fights we called Duels," Peach explains. "That was when our roster was very small and flexible. Now, there are more of us who have expressed interest in participating and so we must now, more than ever, treat this event with utmost impeccability and grace. But don't worry, Zelda and I will be responsible for that! You just have to let your voice be heard."

"So, we'll start off with an idea the three of us began working on," Zelda says. "We were thinking of introducing some raised platforms and obstacles to the battlefield. We thought it might be more interesting if our contestants were able to use their environment to gain the upper hand, especially if you already have some sort of disadvantage." She sees a raised hand in the crowd and hands it over to Red, who has Ivysaur curled up in his lap.

"Will all the fights be like this?" asks the Pokémon trainer. "It may introduce a different set of disadvantages on the fighters."

"No, we think it would be best to rotate the types of fights we're scheduling. We intend to use any changes as an equaliser as well as to draw the crowds back in. So, we may be able to implement many of the ideas generated here today."

"What if there were more fighters at once?" Falco says without raising his hand.

"We didn't think of that!" Peach replies, glossing over his defiance of protocol. "Thank you for the idea."

"Is this tournament round-robin or elimination?" says Ganondorf, hovering darkly in a corner at the opposite end of the room. Zelda processes the question but frowns at Peach, who nudges Mario encouragingly.

"It was previously double round-robin followed by elimination," Mario replies. "That first phase might become tedious with our larger roster, so we're thinking of either scrapping it or outsourcing some of the fights to another venue."

Link the elder raises his hand tentatively.

"Yes, Link?" says Zelda.

"The winner of the fight is determined by knockout, right?" he says. "What if they were pushed over a boundary, instead?"

Zelda raises her eyebrows. Peach beside her claps her hands in glee.

"That sounds wonderful!" she exclaims. As she scribbles the idea on the whiteboard, she whispers to Zelda, "You're lucky to have him around." She gives Zelda a wink, to which the Hylian responds with a confused stare.

Mario picks out King Dedede's hand in the crowd.

"Speaking of obstacles," Dedede begins with a sly grin. "What about other objects that you can use against your enemies? I see some of us have projectile weapons that might determine the outcome of the fight, so maybe you could hide some goodies in your new battlefields."

" _Some_ of us have our blasters set to stun," Fox comments. "Anyway, even if mine wasn't, it wouldn't come close to knocking someone out." 

"Before we rule that out," Mario cuts in. "Could you elaborate, King Dedede?"

"Well..." Dedede slips a hand up his sleeve and pulls out a white, papery ball.

"Dedede," Zelda says sternly. "What do you intend to do with that?"

He throws up his hands. "N-nothing, I was just showing it off!"

"You used those against Kirby and I during the Invasion. It produced a cloud of smoke." Upon that, the congregation begins to stir.

"Wow, did you have to make it sound so controversial?" Dedede protests. "Anyway—"

He stops as he realises it's no longer in his hand. He searches the room urgently and finds that it's made its way into Wario's grasp, who is peering at it intently. Pit, Link the younger, Ness and a reluctant Lucas have shuffled over to take a closer look at the object over his shoulder.

"Don't drop it!" Dedede squeaks, jerking forward to snatch it away.

Wario dangles it out of his reach and sneers, "Does it really work?"

"Don't try it," Dedede and Zelda command in unison.

"Alright," Wario concedes. He throws up his hands and the ball goes flying across the room. The room explodes into a commotion and Zelda covers her face, but after a few seconds she doesn't hear the _hiss_ of the ball as it cracks open and unleashes its load.

"Nice catch, Samus!" she hears Peach exclaim. Zelda opens her eyes and sighs in relief as she spots their saviour with her arm in the air, a hand closed around the intact smoke ball.

"Game's over, boys," Samus declares, keeping a firm grip on the ball. Pikachu beside her sniffs it before deciding to create some distance between the ball and its own electric charge.

"Come back, everyone!" Mario shouts over the increasing noise. Tapping his marker on the whiteboard does the job of reeling back the crowd. "Thank you. We have some pretty good ideas so far."

"Who's gonna make it happen?" Wario interrupts. "Where will the materials come from? Not to mention the handiwork. I doubt Dedede's reliable enough to make enough of his little toys." Dedede's jaw drops but he holds his tongue, fuming in his place.

"Anything we cannot ask from Master Hand we will negotiate with the residents of this world," says Mario. "If you are concerned, you are welcome to contribute."

Wario grimaces and says nothing else. A few moments later his face stretches into a smug grin and he settles for a sufficiently self-satisfied expression for the rest of the meeting.

"We've had some preliminary talks with Master Hand and said that he is willing to impart some effort into rebuilding this tournament as compensation for our helping him," Mario explains to the rest of the group. "He will not be able to cover everything, though. It will present some opportunities and drawbacks. Any insight you can offer will be gratefully received. And with that done, we'll take a vote on our new ideas."

*.*.*.*.*

The meeting ends with everyone dismissed and without the compulsion to stay at the Stadium any longer except to oversee the upcoming Tournament's fruition. Luckily for the many remaining, they share each others' enthusiasm for the tournament and decide to stay for its preparation. It's something Popo shares with the people still lingering in the hallway outside the rec room, but he's embarrassed to admit it, even to his sister.

"And I thought _you_ were crazy," he bemoans. "Everyone else wants to fight each other, as well."

"Hypocrite," Nana returns. "You were drinking up everything that guy said."

"His name is Mario."

"Yeah, him. Looked like you were scared of missing out or something."

Nana cuts herself off as she spots someone over Popo's shoulder.

"Hey!" she calls.

Pit and Link the younger turn to face her. She jogs up to them, leaving her brother to his own devices.

"Did you guys wanna fight?" she says.

Pit and Link blanch.

"What did we do to earn your wrath?" Pit cries, throwing up his arms as a shield.

"No, I mean like spar. Did you want to practice for the tournament?"

"Us?" says Link.

"The rest of them are adults. I wanna fight some kids."

"That's nasty," Pit comments. "I kid, I'm not that stupid. Also technically I'm like, three hundred years old."

Nana stares at him.

"No, I'm more like twenty-five. The years have been kind to me, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, but this tournament won't be," says Nana. "So, we've gotta practice and show the adults what we're made of."

"You're on," Link challenges.

Nana smiles wickedly. "Popo, come over here!"

Popo looks up from his conversation with Ness and Lucas and brings them over.

"What's happening?" Ness asks.

"We're gonna start practicing for the tournament right now," says Nana.

"Oh, sweet. Is everyone here in?"

"I'll force them."

Lucas visibly flinches.

"It'll be fun!" Ness encourages him.

"Just don't laugh," Lucas says shortly.

"You'll be laughing, too," Nana assures him. Suddenly, she declares, "Last one there's a rotten eggplant!" And she dashes off down the hallway. The boys are hot on her heels.

"Hey!" Popo calls, determined not to be the last one there. "Where are we going?!"

*.*.*.*.*

Olimar is conflicted over participating in the tournament and needs some time alone to contemplate it. He hasn't made his final decision yet, but either way, he has to check in with his home world before the tournament was due to begin in just over a month's time.

In his indecisive pacing about the Stadium halls, his five Pikmin trailing loyally behind him, he runs into something tall and shadowy. His gaze flickers upwards and when it meets a pair of eyes he nearly jumps out of his skin.

"My apologies, sir!" he stutters, looking up at the immense man in the black cape. "W-what was your name, again?"

"Ganondorf. You needn't bother with it."

"I'm so sorry, Ganondorf. I'll watch where I'm going in the future."

Ganondorf raises a curious eyebrow at the tiny astronaut who scarcely reaches his knees. "What are you, exactly? Your protective garb suggests that you are alien, or at least incompatible with this place."

"D-does it?" Olimar replies, having thoroughly believed this conversation would have ended by now. "W-well, technically, aren't we all aliens?"

Ganondorf hums in concession. "You are not built to fight. What keeps you here?"

"I honestly don't know. I'm not really inclined to this sort of activity, as you've surmised. N-not that I don't have a resume, but I have a family to look after, you know?"

Ganondorf almost radiates a heavy silence.

"W-what... what keeps _you_ here, if you don't mind me asking?" says Olimar.

Ganondorf stares at the Hocotatian. By this time Olimar's mutual curiosity is overriding his terror and he manages to meet the Dark Lord's gaze.

"You have a noble commitment," Ganondorf says, slowly. "I have no such thing. My home has discarded me. Furthermore, I should not even be alive[3] and was brought here by powers beyond me." 

"I'm so sorry," Olimar says, the fear in his eyes replaced by sympathy. "I hope your burdens aren't too great. Maybe it's a good thing that you're here. You can start fresh, if you want to."

Ganondorf frowns at his own innuendo but is strangely befuddled by the little alien. He's silent for too long and Olimar grows agitated again, shifting on his feet.

"I haven't overstepped my bounds, have I?" Olimar stammers. "I didn't mean to offend—"

Ganondorf shakes his head, the first time he's moved since Olimar started talking to him. "Make sure _I_ don't step on your little friends in the future," he says, eyes flicking to Olimar's Pikmin, whose formation has loosened a little.

"O-of course."

Ganondorf gives a quiet grunt of acknowledgement before he turns on his heel and walks away, cape billowing behind him.

Olimar looks on and wonders if he's made a friend today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] i.e. the events of SSE/Space and Time Cannot Divide. There are a bunch of events in that story that are referenced in this chapter but hopefully it doesn't detract from this story
> 
> [2] This places the story after Star Fox Assault, from what I can surmise without having played it myself. Post-character development, maybe!
> 
> [3] This places the story after Twilight Princess. Ganondorf was defeated but brought back to life by Master Hand/Tabuu offscreen. And now he's here. What is a Dark Lord to do...
> 
> Damn, this chapter just got all Smash Mansion-y... Feel free to share your thoughts! We're approaching the end!


End file.
